One Less Martyr: A Virtual Buffy Webisode
by Unitarian Jihadist
Summary: Buffy, Dawn, and two others infiltrate the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram and Hart, and discover an old friend’s final sacrifice was not so final. Meanwhile, the oldest of the new slayers is visited by a sinister figure from her past.
1. Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

One Less Martyr:

A Virtual Buffy "Webisode"

Buffy, Dawn, and two others infiltrate the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram and Hart, and discover an old friend's final sacrifice was not so final. Meanwhile, the oldest of the new slayers is visited by a sinister figure from her past.

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all affiliated characters are the intellectual and copyrighted property of Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox. Furthermore, this webisode includes some quoted material written by the staff of Mutant Enemy, particularly Joss Whedon, David Fury, and Steven DeKnight. As this is a work of fan fiction I am, like everyone else here, using these characters without permission or profit except for my entertainment and hopefully the entertainment of others.

Continuity: This story is an immediate sequel to _Caliban's Daughters_, and occurs simultaneously with the Angel episode "Destiny"written by the aforementioned Fury and DeKnight. If you find yourself interested in this story, I strongly suggest you read _Caliban's Daughters _first to get background information for this story.

Further Notes: I now have a bit more of a plan. I plan on doing 7 webisodes of this mostly hidden (in my head) 8th season of BtVS, which intertwines with the wonderful final season of Angel. The webisodes will appear in two pairs and a trilogy. The pairs are _Caliban's Daughters_ and _One Less Martyr_, followed by _Primitive _and _These are Your Lives_, and ending with _Dragon Ascendant_, _Buffy the Dragon Slayer, _and _Apocalypse Again_. Titles are tentative.

This will be written in the present tense format I used in _Caliban's Daughters _and also in my Ginger Snaps fanfic, _Ginger Snaps Together Again_. The narrative is meant to describe the action as a television viewer might see it. I hope I learned something about writing in this format from the GS fanfic.

And with all that, here we go…

"**Previously, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer…"**

**We see Spike standing in the Hellmouth, sunlight pouring down on him and out of the necklace he is wearing. ** He is in flames. He's laughing. Then, his face blackens and caves in on itself. Then, his whole body collapses into black ash, and the Hellmouth starts to fall down on and around his disintegrating remains.

**A small army of vampires are dressed like Mongol warriors and riding obviously vampiric horses with yellow eyes and prominent canine teeth. **They are riding towards the Tokyo Slayer Academy. In front of the academy stand several young women and girls, armed with swords, crossbows, and axes. One of the Mongol warriors lets fly an arrow, and a slayer falls dead with an arrow in her heart.

Back in Rome, Buffy sits up in her bed and screams. Dawn runs in.

"Buffy!" she yells. "It's just a nightmare!"

"No," says Buffy. "Nine more slayers in Japan, including Chao-Ahn! Dawn, I _felt_ them _die_!"

Dawn looks intently at Buffy's face. Our vantage point is the back of Buffy's head.

"Buffy!" Dawn says. "What's happened to your _eyes_?"

"My eyes?' says Buffy.

We then see what Dawn sees. The corneas of Buffy's eyes have turned bright yellow, and the whites have turned bright red.

"**Buffy, you say you are stronger now?" **Lyssa asks. Lyssa and Buffy are in the Rome Slayer Academy's infirmary.

"Yeah, I figure since the Tokyo slayers died I'm twice as strong as I was during the Battle of the Hellmouth," Buffy says. "And just after Willow's spell I was a _lot_ stronger than I was before. My strength was increased when all the slayers were activated."

"It's like you are becoming the ultimate slayer," Lyssa says.

"But I don't want to _be _the ultimate slayer, Lyssa!" Buffy yells. "That's like being the _only_ slayer again!"

"**You know that I have already had concerns about your….multiplying talents,"** Giles says as he and Dawn stand in the great hallway of the Rome Slayer Academy.

"Of course," Dawn says. "Join the club. That old axiom about absolute power corrupting absolutely? Definite worries for me there. I've already been through that whole thing with Willow, and the _last_ thing I want to see is a repeat of that starring _me_ as 'Dark Dawn'."

"I assure you that's _really_ not the source of my concern," Giles' says.

"Well, it's the source of _my _concern," says Dawn.

"Yes, well, there _is_ someone else we could talk to," Giles says. "About Buffy and about you. This person knows more slayer lore than anyone else alive."

"Really?" Dawn says. "I thought that would be you, or maybe even me nowadays."

"No, no," says Giles. He is clearly nervous. "_This_ person will know more, but she hasn't talked to me in over thirty years. She still won't want to talk to me. But she may want to talk to _you_."

"Who are you _talking_ about?" asks Dawn.

"Edna Giles," Giles says. "My grandmother."

"**What is the prophecy, the first prophecy every watcher and every slayer learns?" **Edna Giles asks Dawn and her grandson.

" 'Into each generation a slayer is born, one girl in all the world born with the strength and skill'…" Giles begins.

"That's good, Rupert," Edna says, cutting him off. "Did you hear the key phrasing there?"

"I'm afraid not," Dawn says.

"I'm afraid I'm rather at a loss as well," Giles says.

" 'Into each_ generation _a slayer is _born_'…" Edna says. "Not 'when one slayer dies, another takes her place'. The original slayer was part Higher Being. Her physical body could be killed, and much of her power could be taken. But, her _spirit_ was beyond the power of the Shadow Men to contain. So, the spirit went out and searched for a girl child who otherwise would be stillborn. The spirit would _choose_ that child for her next incarnation. That child would grow up to be the next '_chosen_ one'."

"Wait a minute," Giles says. "You're saying that the slayer prophecy refers to a single entity who is repeatedly _reincarnated_?"

"Yes I am," Edna says. "The spirit of the original slayer simply worked herself into a rotation with the other slayers, the ones called by the Shadow Men and their descendents in the original Council. Unfortunately, even the true chosen ones tended to die very young, so the spirit of the original slayer was literally reincarnated every generation."

"So you are saying that _Buffy_ is the latest incarnation of the _original_ slayer?" Dawn says.

"Yes," Edna says. "That's why Buffy's own powers increase with every slayer death. When your friend Willow used the scythe to activate all of the potentials, what she actually did was call all of the stolen power of the original slayer back onto this plane of existence, back from wherever the Shadow Men had hidden it. When one of the other slayers dies that stolen power, instead of going back to wherever the Shadow Men had kept it, now returns home.

"And that home, dear heart, is your sister."

"**Rupert, have you heard of the Scrolls of Aberjian?"** Edna asks her grandson as they both sit in her bedroom.

"Yes, they are said to contain apocalyptic prophecies," Giles says. "But the Scrolls are supposed to be lost."

"Actually, I believe there's a copy in the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram and Hart," Edna says. "They _were_ in the possession of Angel, who, as I am sure you know, now _runs_ Wolfram and Hart's office in Los Angeles.

"The Scrolls mention that the forces of light will be led by a _Female_ Trinity. I've only read _about_ the Scrolls, you understand, not the Scrolls themselves. But I do know that the members of the Female Trinity are _the Warrior_…"

We see Buffy, her eyes bright red and yellow, using blinding speed and a sword to slay three sword wielding vampires, all dressed impeccably in three piece suits. Then we see Buffy during the Battle of the Hellmouth, beheading three Turok-Han with one mighty swing of her scythe.

"…_the Goddess_…"

We see Bright Willow as she is tapping into the scythe, her hair white, her whole body glowing, and her face joyful. Then we see a brief shot of Dark Willow in all her terrible glory, eyes and hair black as coal.

"… _and the Adept._"

We see shots of Dawn in quick succession. First we see Dawn winning a swordfight by beheading a giant bald vampire in an impeccable suit. Then we see Dawn holding her open hand next to a bookcase, and the book leaping into her hand as if on its own accord. Then we see Dawn speaking perfect Italian to one slayer, perfect German to another slayer, and perfect Russian to a third slayer, all in quick succession. Finally, we see Dawn instructing a clearly frustrated Giles on how to read something in a scroll.

**And again, we hear Buffy's voice over.**

"_**Are you ready to be strong?"**_


	2. Teaser

Teaser

_**Manhattan, Kansas: July, 1972**_

_We see street occupied by small late 1950's style ranch homes. The trees along the street are tall, generating a lot of shade. The air is still, which is unusual for northeastern Kansas. It appears to be the middle of the day, because the shade of the trees is directly under them, and the houses cast almost no shadows. Heat waves rise from the parts of the street which are not covered by the shade. _

_A black taxicab pulls into the driveway of a yellow bricked house, right behind a bright green VW Bug. Out of the taxicab steps a man in a three piece suit. He looks like a young Quentin Travers. He wordlessly pays the cab driver, and starts to walk up the driveway before the cab driver can say goodbye. We see the driver shrug and pull out. We then follow the progress of the man as he walks up the driveway, then the short pathway to the front door. He reaches into his front pocket and pulls out a white handkerchief, which he uses to mop his profusely sweating face. In the distance, we hear the rapid fire barking of firecrackers._

"_Bloody colonials," the man mutters in a gruff voice that confirms that he is, in fact, a young Quentin Travers. His entire being, including facial expression, posture, and gait as he walks, communicates disapproval of where he is and who he is going to meet. However, as he reaches the front door, his entire affect changes. He smiles, he straightens up, and as he pushes the doorbell with his right hand, he takes a pair of spectacles out of his front pocket with his left hand. As he places the glasses on his face, his quick transformation from arrogant aristocrat to kindly scholar is complete. _

"_Just a minute!" we hear a voice say from behind the door. Then, a lovely young woman with long, light brown hair, tall, barefoot, dressed in blue jean shorts and a white blouse, opens the door. On her hip is an infant, perhaps eight months old, dressed in little pink jumper. _

_The woman smiles politely, but with a hint of caution. _

"_May I help you?" she asks._

"_Hello, Mrs. Carter," the man says. "I'm Doctor Quentin Travers." _

_The woman responds with a flustered and somewhat embarrassed look. _

"_I'm __**so**__ sorry, Doctor Travers," Mrs. Carter says. "I wasn't expecting you for another week." _

"_It is I who should apologize, Mrs. Carter," Travers replies. "I was just so excited when I saw your daughter's test scores that I just had to meet her as soon as possible. Being British, I of course had forgotten that this was a holiday week in your country."_

_Mrs. Carter smiles kindly as she opens the door wider to allow Travers to enter. She moves easily with her infant daughter on her hip. Travers, followed by Mrs. Carter, enters into a living room. Baby toys are scattered about, as well as various teen magazines depicting David Cassidy and the Monkees on their covers. The room has a well worn but inviting looking red couch, and an equally comfortable looking green vinyl chair. There is also a recliner chair, but it is covered in plastic. As is typical, the furniture is all arranged around a television, with both rabbit ear and round UHF antenna. _

"_I'm afraid the house is a mess," Mrs. Carter says with an apologetic sigh. "Lots of baby toys and Lyssa is a typically messy twelve year old. With young Misty here I haven't had the kind of time I need to properly clean up."_

"_Perhaps you can start to expect young Lyssa to help maintain the household," Travers replies in a tone of kindly suggestion. _

"_I __**should**__," Mrs. Carter says. "I really should, but sometimes getting her to clean up is more work than doing it myself. Can I get you something? Ice tea perhaps?"_

_Travers briefly makes a face when Mrs. Carter says "ice tea", but the expression vanishes before it is seen. _

"_I'll just take some water if you don't mind, ice is not necessary," Travers says. _

"_That's fine," Mrs. Carter says. "I'll get that for you and call Lyssa in from outside."_

_Mrs. Carter, still carrying the infant Misty, walks through a doorway in the back of the living room. We hear water running, a refrigerator door opening then hastily being closed again with a muttered "oh yeah". Then we hear a backdoor opening and Mrs. Carter yelling:_

"_Lyssa! Come in please!" _

_In the distance, we hear a young girl's voice yell back._

"_**Ma**__-om!" we hear. "I'm going to Carly's house to watch Dark Shadows, can't it wait?"_

"_No, it can't!" Mrs. Carter yells back. "You have a visitor."_

"_Well, can Carly and Heather come?" _

"_No, Lyssa," Mrs. Carter says. "They can't. It's not that kind of visitor."_

_We hear the backdoor close again, and then Mrs. Carter walks in with her infant daughter in one arm, and a glass of water in her other hand. _

"_I'm sorry," Mrs. Carter says as she hands Travers his glass of water. "My daughter is a huge fan of Dark Shadows, and she and the neighborhood kids organize their afternoons around it. It's a ridiculous soap opera with vampires, werewolves, and witches. The kids love it, though."_

_Travers smiles indulgently._

"_I understand," he says. "I myself find vampires, werewolves, and witches to be fascinating topics."_

_We hear the back door slam open, and then see a pretty young girl, looking very much like her mother, walk from the back into the living room. She is darkly tanned, barefoot, and wearing blue jean shorts and a bright multi-colored tie dyed t-shirt. Her long brown hair is swept back on each side by hairclips with huge plastic pink daisies on them. The girl's expression is not friendly._

"_Lyssa," Mrs. Carter says. "This is Doctor Quentin Travers, the man I told you about. He's come a little early."_

_Lyssa's expression softens a little, not exactly becoming friendly but certainly more polite. She extends her right hand. Travers shakes it._

"_Nice to meet you," Lyssa says. "I thought you were coming next week, though." _

"_As I told your mother, I was so excited to meet you I forgot myself and arrived early," he says. _

"_So, uhm," Lyssa says, looking longingly at the television set. "What are we going to do?"_

"_Lyssa," Mrs. Carter says with an exasperated sigh. "__**Forget**__ about that TV show for a day. Nothing much is going to happen on a single, mid-week episode of a daily soap opera!"_

"_Actually, Mrs. Carter," Travers says. "If you don't mind I would be __**delighted **__to watch this 'Dark Shadows' with Lyssa."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Travers," Mrs. Carter says. "We don't have cable here. Dark Shadows is on channel 9 from Kansas City."_

"_Oh, I see," Travers says, actually sounding a little disappointed. He turns to Lyssa. "Why don't you go to your friend's house and watch your program, then meet me here afterwards?"_

"_**Really?" **__Lyssa exclaims. "Far __**out**__!"_

"_The only thing I will ask you to do when you come back is to tell me all about your program," Travers says. _

"_OK!" Lyssa says as she starts to edge her way to the front door. "Then what are we going to do?"_

"_Well, then, young Lyssa," Travers says. "__**Then**__ I will tell you some stories of my __**own**__."_

**Nottingham, England: November, 2003**

Giles is sitting in a hospital waiting room reading a magazine, but looking quite tense. An elevator door opens to reveal Lyssa Carter McGrath and her 12 year old daughter, Caitlyn. Upon exiting the elevator, Lyssa looks around, spots Giles, and runs up to him.

"_Giles_!" Lyssa says.

Giles stands up and embraces Lyssa. Lyssa raises her face and they briefly kiss. Caitlyn watches the kiss and turns away with an expression of disapproval.

"How is she?" Lyssa asks.

"She's not expected to live," Giles says, motioning to Lyssa and Caitlyn to sit.

"Of course, she was not expected to survive the gurney ride to the helicopter. Then, she was not expected to survive the helicopter ride to the hospital. Then, she was not expected to survive surgery or the blood transfusion. Then, she was not expected to survive the night. As a result of these sequential failures to meet expectations, I am not putting great stock in the _not expected to live _prognosis."

"She's what, a hundred and two years old?" Lyssa replies. "She's almost certainly extremely fragile. I hope you are prepared for the worse."

Giles shrugs.

"I'm not certain how I feel about the prospect of losing her, honestly," Giles says. "She just took me off of her disinherited list yesterday, and even those family members she didn't disinherit she hasn't exactly kept up with. I called Althea and she was frankly shocked that our grandmother was still alive, and didn't seem to care that she was at death's door."

Lyssa shrugs.

"Your cousin isn't exactly the friendliest person in the world, hon," she says.

"Althea's just gruff, Lyssa," Giles says. "She certainly came through for Willow when I needed her to. Mrs. Harkness and the others in the coven would not have accepted her if Althea had not intervened."

"Really?" Lyssa says. "What would have happened if the coven had not taken Willow in?"

Giles' expression turns very grim.

"They would have given Willow the fate she was expecting," Giles says.

"What was that?" Caitlyn asks, not too politely.

Giles turns towards Caitlyn.

"That is something you will have to ask Willow when you see her again," Giles says mildly, as if to avoid a tone of reproach. "But I would be careful with that, it's a very painful subject for her."

Caitlyn turns to her mother.

"Mom," Caitlyn asks. "Can you give me some money so I can go get something to eat?"

Lyssa nods and fishes some coins and a couple of pound notes out of her purse.

"Yes honey," Lyssa says. "But only to the vending machine down by the elevator downstairs, and you need to come back immediately or I will come looking for you."

"It's not like there are going to be any _vampires _here, Mom," Caitlyn says, all but rolling her eyes as she takes the money and starts to go back towards the elevator.

"Actually, Caitlyn, vampires tend to _like_ hospitals," Lyssa says. "All the blood, remember?"

"And infant vampires occasionally awaken in the morgue," Giles says.

"I know all this, Mom," Caitlyn says. "It's not like I haven't killed baby vamps before!"

"Have Karyn and Dawn been taking you out on their slaying patrols again?" Lyssa says, her voice rising slightly in anger. "They should know better than that!"

"No Mom," Caitlyn says. "They've been _good_. 'Course, I _should_ be going with them, since _I'm_ a _vampire slayer _too, and Dawn's even my _watcher_!"

Giles looks around uncomfortably.

"It's OK, no one heard," Caitlyn turns and says to Giles.

"She's right, Giles," Lyssa says. "No one heard."

Giles' posture relaxes. Caitlyn stands up.

"I'll be right back, Mom," Caitlyn says, as she walks to the elevator.

As the elevator door closes behind Caitlyn, Lyssa turns towards Giles.

"I'm _so_ sorry about her attitude lately," Lyssa says. "I don't know what is getting _into_ her. Incipient teenagerism, I guess."

"Caitlyn is a _delightful_ young lady," Giles says. "She is sweet and soft spoken and her attitude is perfectly natural given the circumstances. It's been less than a year since she lost her father. She can't be happy with our budding relationship"

"But Karyn…" Lyssa says.

"Karyn spends a lot of time with Dawn and Buffy, and they tend to be in the...(ahem!) as Willow would put it, 'yay Giles' camp. I don't have that sort of support among the slayers in Caitlyn's age group. "

"The next youngest slayer in Rome just turned 15, Giles," Lyssa says. "She's almost as isolated as I am when it comes to slayers in the same age group.

"Not that I consider it an excuse for the way she has been treating you lately."

"I'm _**not **_offended in any way whatsoever," Giles says with a gentle smile, laying his right hand gently on Lyssa's left hand. Lyssa takes his hand and holds it for a second, then she leans forward and briefly kisses Giles again.

"Yes, well," Giles says. "While Caitlyn is out acquiring snacks, I need to tell you the things that my grandmother told us. I'm afraid I have some very disturbing news about the original Watcher's Council, and your old watcher."

"Quentin?" Lyssa asks, her face concerned. "He's _dead_, what else could be wrong?"

Giles, his expression grim, says simply:

"Plenty."

**Wolfram and Hart, London Offices**

Our viewpoint follows a figure in a cloak as we enter the lobby. The London Wolfram and Hart lobby is identical in appearance to the lobby in Wolfram and Hart, Los Angeles, and it appears to be deserted, except for other cloaked figures milling about muttering to each other in front of an elevator. One of the other cloaked figures is at least 12 feet tall.

When the door to the elevator dings and opens, the cloaked figures crowd in like it's a Chinese fire drill. When our viewpoint enters the elevator, however, the interior is revealed to be the size of a large ballroom, and is occupied by over a hundred other cloaked figures. After the last of the mysterious figures enters the elevator, we see the 12 foot tall figure doff its cloak, to reveal a giant reptilian creature clad in a mockery of an old fashioned elevator operator outfit.

"Going down," the creature croaks as it opens a panel underneath the buttons and pushes a large square, glowing white button. Depicted in the middle of the button is the Circle of the Black Thorn. As the elevator door closes, we hear massive machinery activate as the elevator starts its downward trip. In the background, we hear a Muzak version of the "The Girl from Ipanema" play in the background. The cloaked figures all stand silently. No one speaks, or even clears his, her, or its throat.

Our viewpoint shifts to the display over the elevator door. It reads _SB_, then _SSB_, then _SSSB_, and so on until we see _SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSB_, followed by _Nether Realm Level 1_, _Nether Realm Level 2, _and so on until we reach _Nether Realm Level 9._ Then, the display reads _Abandon All Hope: Welcome Circle members and have a nice day_. The elevator dings, and the doors open.

On the other side of the doors are glowing, slimy red cave walls with natural columns consisting of grown together stalactites and stalagmites. Also on the other side of the door are uniformed demons, clearly of the Scourge type. Each one of the Scourge demons has a three headed, reptilian creature on a leash somewhat resembling three headed dogs. The creatures range in approximate size from Mastiff to horse.

One of the cloaked figures turns to another and says in a feminine voice with an Italian accent.

"I was so disappointed that these _little_ creatures are the source of the Cerberus legend," the cloaked figure says as she removes her cloak to reveal a large breasted, attractive woman who appears to be in her mid forties. "Weren't you?"

The cloaked figure next to her removes his own cloak to reveal the three piece suit and familiar features of Quentin Travers.

"Actually, I find these creatures to be quite formidable appearing in their own right," Travers says in his gruff voice.

Fade to black, and the opening credits begin.


	3. Act 1

Act 1

_**Manhattan, Kansas: September, 1972**_

_Lyssa Carter and Quentin Travers are sparring with quarterstaffs. Both are clad in Karate uniforms. Travers is wearing a black belt, Lyssa a white belt. Travers seems to be pushing an advantage, but suddenly Lyssa feints high, then goes low for the legs. Travers easily jumps over Lyssa's attack, but the girl quickly reverses her staff and gets under Travers' guard. Lyssa stops her staff just before striking Travers' throat._

_Travers smiles._

"_**Excellent, **__Lyssa!" Travers says. "I believe that is the first time you've actually defeated me!"_

_Lyssa beams at the praise. They are sparring in a small gym with wall to wall floor mats. _

"_I think I could use a drink," Travers says. "Tea?"_

"_Only the cold stuff," Lyssa says._

"_That's not proper tea," Travers says with a dismissive sniff. "If that is what you want, you can go into the kitchen and make it yourself." _

_Travers and Lyssa leave the small gym, which turns out to be a converted stand alone garage. They go through the back door of a large, red bricked house, and enter into a very large and well appointed kitchen. Lyssa moves through the kitchen with practiced familiarity, filling a kettle of water and putting it on the stove, then going to the refrigerator, opening the freezer, and taking out an ice tray. Lyssa grabs a glass from an overhead cabinet and starts to fill it with ice. Travers, in the meantime, moves about the kitchen getting tea bags and tea cups. He brings them next to Lyssa's glass of ice. He appears to be about to say something when the phone rings._

"_London calling," Lyssa says with the bored assurance of someone who has witnessed Travers answering phone calls many times. _

"_Undoubtedly," Travers says as he moves to pick up the receiver on the olive green rotary kitchen phone attached to the wall over the counter._

"_Hello?" Travers says. "__**Mrs. Carter**__! What a pleasant surprise! What's that?"_

_Travers pauses and listens intently. We hear Mrs. Carter's voice on the other end of the line. What she is saying is unclear, but her tone is clearly distraught. _

"_I…I see," Travers says somberly. "Do you want __**me**__ to…? Or do you want to wait until…? Oh certainly, I can do that. Don't bother yourself, I'll bring her home._

"_And my most __**sincere**__ condolences, Mrs. Carter."_

_Travers hangs up the phone. _

"_What's wrong?" Lyssa asks. "Why did Mom call?"_

_As she asks the question, Lyssa backs away slightly, as if steeling herself for the worst sort of news, but news that she has been expecting. _

"_A Captain Forrester came over from Fort Riley and…" Travers starts to say. _

"_**NO!!! No, no, no, no, no!!!" **__Lyssa yells. "Don't __**say**__ it!"_

"_I'm sorry, Lyssa," Travers says softly as he approaches Lyssa, his hand up to touch her face. The twelve year old girl runs into his arms and starts to sob._

"_**Daddy**__!" she cries into Travers' chest._

**Nottingham, England: November, 2003**

Lyssa and Giles are sitting in the hospital waiting room. There are a few other people in the room, but it is mostly empty. Caitlyn is sitting a distance away watching Sponge Bob on the waiting room's overhead TV.

"So let me get this straight," Lyssa whispers intently to Giles. "You are saying that the original Watcher's Council is a part of Wolfram and _Hart_?"

"Not exactly a _part_ of Wolfram and Hart, more like a sister organization," Giles says. "The Watcher's Council and Wolfram and Hart each answered to the same management."

"And this management wants to transform the world into a hell dimension from within?" Lyssa asks in a tense whisper that betrays both anger and hard skepticism. "Are you _listening_ to yourself here?"

"Considering the things we have all lived through, does that really sound so absurd?" Giles asks.

"Giles, if the old Council was as evil as you say, then how can you trust _anything_ your grandmother says about it?" Lyssa asks. "She was the _head_ of the Council for over _three decades_. Wouldn't she be evil as well if the old Council was as bad as she says it was?"

"I just…Dawn and I both think she's telling the truth," Giles says, rather weakly. "My grandmother really had no reason to lie to us."

"Is a reason to lie _really_ so hard for you to imagine?" Lyssa asks, her voice remaining soft but her inflection rising. "By your own admission, your grandmother was extremely paranoid, and probably had some old rivalries within the old Council. Maybe this is just a way for her to get in the last word this side of the grave."

"I don't think so, Lyssa," Giles says. "We contacted _her_, remember? There…there have always been uncomfortable contradictions between the old Council's written history of the slayer, and older, often _pre-literate_ slayer lore. What my grandmother told us resolves several of those…"

"_Why _do you believe her?" Lyssa interrupts in a tone of complete exasperation. "Is it because it's so _easy_ for you to believe the _worst_ of Quentin? I _know_ you really didn't like him, Giles, but he's _not_ the monster you say he was. You have no idea of how kind he could be. He was _there_ for me when…"

"When what?" asks Giles.

"When we received word that my Dad had been killed in Viet Nam," Lyssa says.

**Rome**

We are looking into the living room of Buffy and Dawn's apartment. Dawn is sitting on the couch, her legs drawn up, her expression grim. She is wearing grey sweats and white socks, and her hair is tied back into a pony tail. The television is on, and we hear voices speaking in Italian. It sounds like a sporting event is on.

Buffy enters the room from the side, wearing only a pink robe. Her hair is wrapped up in a bright blue towel, and she flops down on the couch next to Dawn. Her eyes are still bright red and yellow.

"Anything good on?" Buffy asks.

Dawn starts slightly.

"What?" she says. "Oh! No, I really wasn't paying attention."

Dawn turns to face Buffy.

"Was the new African slayer _really _a ch-"

"Dawn, that's _enough_!" Buffy picks up the remote laying on the couch between them and turns off the television. Then she turns and looks at her sister. "What's _bothering_ you? You've been tense ever since you met me at the airport. Is it about Giles' grandmother getting shot?"

Dawn shakes her head.

"No, although that _was _awful," Dawn says. "It's about what she told us _before_ she was shot, particularly about you."

Buffy shuts her eyes, then reopens them.

"So, she knows something about why I'm experiencing each slayer death?" Buffy asks. "Why my eyes are this funky color, and why I am so _freaking_ strong all of a sudden?"

"Yeah," Dawn says. "Yeah, I think she does."

"Uhm, is this news gonna be something I should be sitting down for?" Buffy asks. "Because you look like you're about to give me some _really_ bad news."

"You're already sitting down, Buffy," Dawn says.

"Oh yeah," Buffy responds. Then she closes her eyes and shakes her head. "OK, Dawn, let's get on with this. The suspense is making me really nervous, and you know what I'm like when I'm nervous."

"You mean you're a spaz?" Dawn says.

"A super _strong_ spaz, and don't you forget it," Buffy replies.

Dawn nods.

"Point taken," she says. "It starts with the old slayer prophecy we've all heard ad nauseum, but never really paid close enough attention to…"

**Home Office of the Circle of the Black Thorn**

"And even though our contribution from the Los Angeles office has fallen off after the management change, our _overall_ corruption index has continued to increase in line with expectations. Thank you."

We are looking down at an immense, circular table, glowing white with the image of the Circle of the Black Thorn imprinted on it about 1/4 of the table's radius in. Seated around it are various humans and demons, all reading paper handouts. The Italian woman from Wolfram and Hart, standing next to a chart portraying a jagged red line moving gradually upwards from left to right, has evidently just completed a report.

A very deep voice booms up from the table itself.

"_**Any questions for Ilona?"**_

A rather disgusting looking demon, looking like a green skinned cross between a pig and a shark, drools on the table as it speaks.

"What about your Los Angeles division?" the creature asks in a gurgling voice. "What is the progress with the ensouled vampire and his creatures?"

"It is too soon to tell with most of them," the woman replies. "Angel and his team have all had to make ethical compromises to make use of company resources, but they are still trying to apply said resources in directions _counter_ to company policy. We have made significant progress with the one called Gunn, and perhaps the Pilean, but we are increasingly certain that the Burkle woman is going to be a problem, and she has a great deal of influence with Wyndam-Price, whose loyalty to Angel borders on self sacrificing…"

"The ex-_watcher_?" the creature asks incredulously. "The one who _betrayed_ Angel before?"

"He didn't really _betray_ him…" the woman begins to say before she is cut off by the deep voice from within the table.

"_**Enough! Ilona's assessment of Wyndam-Price is accurate."**_

There is a quick cut to Travers, who looks somewhat embarrassed that the discussion is involving a watcher he fired.

"_**Ilona, is there a plan for dealing with the Burkle woman?"**_

"Yes, lord," Ilona says. "We have a man inside her department, one who is deluded enough to worship one of the _lesser_ Old Ones. Nevertheless, he has a plan that should both _eliminate_ Winifred Burkle and distract the _Trinity _at a critical time."

"_**I am aware of the plan. It is excellent. Tell your man to proceed."**_

"With pleasure, lord," Ilona replies.

"_**Other questions?"**_

The same creature as before raises two clawed limbs, on the same side of its body. The other assorted demons and humans groan among themselves.

"What about the other one?" it asks. "_Spike_, I think his name is?"

"_**I will accept that question. We have an applicant with a plan that will use Spike's return to make Angel doubt himself and his previous allegiances. Maybe encourage him to see our side of things."**_

"But the other one is _also_ a vampire with a soul. Might the prophecy refer to _him_ rather than Angel?"

"_**We already know that Spike is NOT the vampire of prophecy…"**_

"Begging your most humble pardon, lord, but how do we _know_ that?"

"_**Because Angel, the vampire of prophecy, is a being whose soul is at war with his demon. Only one whose soul despises the demon within would find the fate of Shonshu rewarding. This is not the case with William the Bloody, whose demon hungered for the guidance of a soul and fought to get it back. In Spike, the soul and the demon are of one mind, and unfortunately, when the final fight begins, we can be certain he will not be on our side. He already has his reward, and his loyalties. But since he is not the vampire of prophecy, he will also not be the one to tip the balance in the final fight.**_

"_**Any other questions?"**_

There is a clear edge in the deep voice that indicates that any further questions would result in harsh consequences to the asker. The rest of the Circle turn to look threateningly at the creature who asked the questions, and it appears to take the hint.

"No, lord," it says.

"_**Excellent! Mr. Travers."**_

"Yes lord."

"_**You're up. After that, we'll take a break for lunch. I have some oxen and virgins on the grill and I am just famished."**_

**Rome**

We are back in Buffy and Dawn's apartment.

"Wow," Buffy says. "So I'm _the _Slayer after all, huh?"

"Yeah," Dawn says. "According to Grandma Giles, anyway. Maybe she's not telling the truth."

"She _is_," says Buffy. "I knew it as soon as you told me. I think I've always known it."

"Funny thing," says Dawn. "I didn't expect you to take it this well."

Buffy shrugs.

"See above, re: I think I've known it all along."

"_How_ did you know?" Dawn asks.

"There have been hints," Buffy says. "The last one came when I met the new slayer in Africa. I understood her viewpoint, being a member of a different species and being hunted by humans. I flashed back to one of the Primitive's memories, and I knew it was _mine_."

"What was that memory?" Dawn asks.

"The loss of the _second_ to last of my kind," Buffy says. Buffy's expression is different as she says it, alien and fierce. Dawn looks at her sister intently.

"What else makes you think you've known all along?" Dawn asks.

"After we beat Adam by calling on the source of the Slayer's power, the Primitive tried to kill Willow, Giles, and Xander in their dreams. I remember _their_ dreams as well as mine, and I remember being the one _hunting_ them. I think I've been _repressing _that, by the way."

"Eeeeeyughh," Dawn says. "I can see why."

"Then there was _my_ dream, where the Primitive tried to do something other than kill me."

"What was that?"

"Talk me out of my humanity," Buffy answers. "When she failed, she let the others go."

"Because she was _you_, and you weren't willing to give them up," Dawn says.

"Yeah," Buffy answers. "I think that's it."

There is a quiet moment between them. The two sisters look at each other.

Finally, Dawn breaks the silence.

"So, how are you, _really_?" Dawn asks.

"Don't really know anymore, Dawnie," Buffy responds.

"_Don't_ call me Dawnie."

There is another moment of mutual silence. Then, Dawn draws a deep breath and asks another question. There is a quaver in her voice, one born of grief for the loss of a good friend.

"Buffy, in the Hellmouth, did you feel _Amanda_ die?"

"Yeah, I _did_, although I didn't _realize_ what was happening at the time," Buffy says. "Dawn, I think when she and the others died down there, it increased my strength enough so that my wound healed. If Amanda and the others hadn't died down there, I would have.

"And that's not something I really wanted to know."

Dawn nods.

"I know, Buffy," Dawn says.

The two sit silently together for about 30 seconds before Dawn breaks the silence.

"So, what do you think we should do now?" she asks her big sister.

"Why are you asking _me_?" Buffy replies with a slight smile. "_You're_ all 'Miss Know-It-All' now, what do _you_ think we should do?"

"I think something really _**big **_happened when Willow activated all of the potentials," Dawn says. "Not just to you and to me, but to Will as well. I think when she did the spell, she activated potentials in the _three of us_ that go way beyond anything else activated that day."

"The Female Trinity," Buffy says.

"I think so," Dawn replies. "But we really are in the dark about what happened, and what is supposed to happen with us. I _need_ to see the Scrolls of Aberjian to get a better handle on what's happening, both with us and with our enemies."

"I agree," says Buffy. "If we're going to be Destiny's bitches…"

"…it would make sense to know the extent of our bitchdom," Dawn finishes. "I'll call Willow."

**Rome and Rio de Janeiro**

Dawn is now sitting in Buffy's office at the Rome Slayer Academy. Buffy is sitting beside her, and they are both looking at a speaker phone.

We switch to a private beach. Kennedy is in a red bikini rubbing oil on a bare back, and as we pan down we see it is Willow laying on her stomach. From what we can tell, she is "wearing" a black bikini, although the top is undone. The bottom looks black, but it is very thin and it is also pixilated so we can't tell for sure. We hear a cell phone ring to the 'Bewitched" theme.

"Oh! Kennedy!" Willow exclaims. "Can you get that?"

"Willow," Kennedy says in a half amused tone of voice. "We're _alone_ here. You _own _this beach. No one can see you, and whoever is calling can't see you."

"C'mon, Kennedy," Willow says pleadingly. "It's a big step for me just to _wear _this thing. That's still the right terminology, isn't it? _Wear? _'Cause in this case I'm not so sure."

"All right," Kennedy says grudgingly. She reaches into the handbag beside them and hands Willow her cell phone.

"Hello? Oh, hi guys! What's up?"

Back in the office in Rome, Buffy and Dawn lean forward.

"A lot," Buffy says grimly. "We need you here, ASAP."

We switch back to the private beach.

"Oh, uhm," Willow says, looking at Kennedy and mouthing _sorry_. "_How_ ASAP?"

Kennedy gets a disgusted look on her face and stands up. Willow makes a face but continues to listen on the phone.

"_That_ ASAP huh?" Willow says, sitting up. Now Willow's upper torso is pixilated as well. She is desperately trying to hold up and adjust her top over her bare chest. "Guys, _what's _going on?"

Back in Rome, Dawn turns to Buffy, pulls up her legs so she is sitting in a cross legged position, then says:

"Hold on."

Dawn closes her eyes and mutters a few unintelligible words.

Back in Rio, Willow's eyes go wide, and she forgets fiddling with her top. After about 5 seconds, she closes her cell phone. Kennedy kneels down.

"Willow, are you all right?" she asks.

Back in Rome, Dawn opens her eyes and draws a shuddering breath.

"Dawnie, are you OK?" Buffy asks.

"Don't call me Dawnie," Dawn says, her eyes blinking.

"OK, sorry," Buffy says. "But the question still stands."

"I'm alright," Dawn says. "The spell takes a little out of me, that's all."

"What spell?" Buffy asks.

Dawn looks at the buzzing speaker phone.

"Willow hung up on us," Buffy says.

"That's because I've already told her everything," Dawn says.

"How did you do that?" Buffy asks. "That spell?"

"Yeah, Willow can do it without batting an eye, but it still takes a lot out of me."

"All righty then," Buffy says. "Color me suitably impressed."

Back in Rio, Willow is adjusting her top, a determined look on her face.

"Let me guess," Kennedy says, with more than a little anger. "That was Buffy and Dawn calling to tell you to come right away. Couldn't have been Giles, because you wouldn't say 'hi guys' if he was on the other end."

"Kennedy, not now," Willow says.

"If not now, _when_?" Kennedy asks, clearly exasperated. "You're always running off to Rome or Devonshire to be with Buffy or Giles, or to somewhere else on your billion dollar business. This was supposed to be the first extended time we've had together in months."

"Then come _with_ me, Kennedy," Willow says. "You're a _slayer_, it's your business too."

"I may be a slayer, but I'm not a 'scooby', and I never will be," Kennedy says bitterly.

"Whose decision is _that_?" Willow says, now clearly angry herself as she searches her bag. "As far as I'm concerned you're welcome."

"I'm trying to build something _here_, with you, and with Ana and the others," Kennedy says. "But if you don't take the time…"

"Kennedy, the Rio Academy is just one slayer academy among several," Willow says. "You can't use it to avoid dealing with Buffy, Dawn, and the others."

"I don't want to be in their shadow," Kennedy says, standing up again and walking away a short distance. "I don't want _us_ to be in their shadow. We're grown ups. We're a couple, we have our own lives…"

"So, I have to choose between you and my _friends_?" Willow says, turning to look at Kennedy. "Jeez, _petty_ much?"

Kennedy looks away as Willow pulls a vial out of her bag.

"Last chance," Willow says. "Are you coming? There's enough in here for both of us."

"What is that stuff?" Kennedy asks, turning to look at the vial in Willow's hand in spite of herself.

"Dawn's blood," Willow says. "Since she is the Key, her blood can be used to open a door in space and time, and to close it again. Dawn doesn't have the skill to do it herself yet, but I've been able to do it…"

"Do what?" Kennedy asks, looking to Willow's face.

"Teleport," Willow says.

"What do you do with the blood?" Kennedy asks. The liquid in the vial, once dark, is now glowing a bright green, like plutonium.

"I drink it. _We_ drink it. Come _with_ me, Kennedy."

Kennedy shakes her head.

"I can't _**believe**_ you," Kennedy says. "You're not even going to take the time to pack and fly on one of your planes."

"No, I'm _not_, Kennedy," Willow says, the expression on her face no longer pleading, simply angry and resigned. "It's too important. I can't even take the time to explain to you what's going on. Not here, anyway. Not unless you come with me."

"I have an academy to run _here_," Kennedy says. "So _bon voyage_."

"Suit yourself," Willow takes a swig of the bright green liquid and mutters an incantation. She glows green for a second, then vanishes with a pop of imploding air.

Kennedy smiles as Willow vanishes. It is not a nice smile.

"Forget something?" she asks to the air.

Back in Buffy's office, there is a bright green flash and another pop, this time of displaced air.

Buffy's and Dawn's eyes go wide. Buffy reaches over with one hand and attempts to cover Dawn's eyes, but Dawn ducks down and looks under Buffy's hand.

"_Willow_!" Buffy says in a shocked voice.


	4. Act 2

Act 2

"_**Camp Pottawatomie" off of the east shore of Tuttle Creek Lake in Kansas: July 1976**_

_It is night and there is the reflection of a full moon on the lake, although none in the sky, indicating that the moon is behind our vantage point. We are looking down at an archery range, which is up on top of a lakeside hill. As our vantage point descends, we see three small figures, two male and one female. The female is being dragged by one of the males and the other male has his hand over her mouth. As our vantage point reaches the level of the ground, the three figures approach us. The girl is young and blond, probably no more than 16 or 17, barefoot, in a t-shirt and gym shorts. The man holding his hand over her mouth is not a man at all, but a vampire, with full ridges and fangs showing. His hair is long, and he looks like as a human being he might have been maybe a year older than the girl. He is wearing a t-shirt that says "Camp Pottawatomie Ecology Camp, 1975: We Care". The other man does not have a ridged forehead and fangs, and he looks older, maybe late 20's or early 30's. His hair is long, and he has a stringy mustache and whispy goatee. As they go by the last target, this man stops and holds up his hand, identifying himself as the leader between the two. _

"_Let's eat here, then we can dump her over the side of the hill," he says. "It's a pretty steep drop. They might think she got up, wandered here and fell. At least until the autopsy."_

"_Where's our master?" the other asks. _

"_Meeting a friend," the older appearing vampire says as his face morphs into ridges and fangs. The girl whimpers again, fearfully. Then, we hear a high pitched hiss, and an arrow buries itself into the back and heart of the younger appearing vampire. _

"_Huh," the younger vampire says. "That hurt."_

_Then he dusts. _

_The remaining vampire pulls the girl to him and moves his hand from her wrist to her throat, putting his other hand over her mouth. _

"_I suggest the good Samaritan show himself," he says. "Or I tear out her throat right here."_

_Stepping out from the half open door of a storage shed is a young woman about the same age as the captive. The captive's eyes go wide in apparent recognition as they see the other girl. Her hair is brown and tied up in a pony tail, and she is dressed in blue jeans, black Converse high tops, and a t-shirt that says "Camp Pottawatomie Ecology Camp, 1976: We Take the Long View". She has a quill of arrows strapped over her shoulder. The girl is clearly an older version of the 12 year old Lyssa Carter. _

"_Let the girl go," Lyssa says. _

"_Who are you?" the vampire asks. _

"_Who do you think?" Lyssa says coldly. "I'm the Slayer."_

_The vampire chuckles, then laughs. _

"_Young lady," the vampire says. "I know for a fact that the current slayer is woman named Nikki Wood. Last I heard she was in London. She moves around a lot, which is irritating my master to no end. He really wants to catch up to her."_

_The vampire then looks up and behind Lyssa and smiles._

"_Don't you, master?" he continues. _

"_Nice try," Lyssa says. _

"_You know," a voice says behind her. "The __**real **__slayer would have __**detected**__ my presence."_

_In one smooth motion, Lyssa whirls and shoots her arrow. It flies straight and true until it is caught by a right hand just over the heart of its owner. A tall man, with long blond hair, wearing the stereotypical Dracula outfit of formal 19__th__ century dress and a long cape, looks at the arrow and smiles, then snaps it in two one handed._

"_Well __**done**__, Miss Carter!" he says in a tone conveying genuine respect. "You __**are **__Quentin Traver's current __**potential**__, are you not?"_

_Lyssa swallows hard and looks from one vampire to the other and backs away at a 90 degree angle from between the two vampires. _

"_Amilyn," the caped vampire says. "Let the girl go."_

"_But master…" Amilyn says uncertainly. _

"_It's quite all right," the caped vampire says. "I'll take the girl. __**You**__ can have the potential."_

_Amilyn smiles broadly at that and lets the girl go, then leaps right at Lyssa, swiping the bow out of her hand. Lyssa reaches into the quill and pulls out not an arrow but a squirt bottle, and sprays it into Amilyn's mouth and face. As his face smokes and he howls in pain, Lyssa kicks him hard in the groin and steps around him and between the other girl and the caped vampire._

"_**Run,**__ Jennifer!" Lyssa says loudly and authoritatively. "Run and don't look back."_

"_Do as she says, girl," the caped vampire says. "I like a good chase."_

_Jennifer looks at Lyssa, then runs away with a sob. _

"_You're __**not**__ going to get her," Lyssa says to the caped vampire in a determined voice._

"_Oh, you're __**right**__ about that," the caped vampire says. "You've __**earned**__ her life, I'm letting her go."_

"_Who __**are **__you?" Lyssa asks. _

"_Didn't your watcher __**tell**__ you?" the caped vampire asks in an incredulous tone. "How utterly remiss of him. I am __**Lothos**__, but in watcher circles I'm better known as the 'slayer of slayers'._

"_Mr. Travers __**really**__ should have warned you about me. I'm quite disappointed and more than a little insulted, really."_

_Amilyn gets up, coughing horribly and still bent over a little. Then he stands up, grins, and blows a smoke ring._

"_Blessed by a non-celibate priest with doubts," he says to Lothos. "I'm guessing he'll leave his post, get married, and become Anglican within a year, maybe even Unitarian."_

"_I believe they call it Episcopalian in this country," Lothos says. Then he turns to Amilyn._

"_Time to go," he says._

"_But what about the __**potential**__?" Amilyn asks, clearly disappointed and angry. _

"_What about her?" Lothos says. "I only pick __**ripe**__ slayers, and this one isn't ripe yet, if she ever will be. Besides, I prefer the __**special **__slayers, the ones most likely to remember me from…other lives."_

"_But you said __**I**__ can have her," Amilyn says reproachfully._

"_Yes," Lothos says. "And then she humiliated you and __**entertained**__ me. In appreciation, I'm letting her live."_

_Amilyn pouts._

"_Oh, don't look at me like that," Lothos says to him. "Besides, I've found you a perfectly wonderful little farm family east of Wamego on the way to the Kansas City airport."_

_We cut to Lyssa. Her expression is confused, but then becomes alarmed when she hears about the farm family east of Wamego. _

"_No…" she starts to say, then blinks in confusion. She is now alone on the archery range. She looks around, picks up her bow, and pulls an arrow from her quill. Arrow notched and at the ready, she stands looking around. _

_Our vantage point switches to a wooded area. Lothos is looking out at Lyssa and the archery range. He chuckles softly. _

"_Look what __**I've**__ found skulking around," Amilyn says as he appears within the frame. He has Quentin Travers by the scruff of the collar of his suit. _

"_Hello, Quentin," Lothos says without turning around. "You've done a good job with her. Well trained but still in the dark where it counts."_

"_I thought you would be chasing after Nikki Wood," Travers says. "Particularly after she hurt you that last time."_

"_Oh, I'll take her soon enough," Lothos says. "It really is a nuisance the way Edna Giles and her creature Pendergast keep moving her around. I __**sincerely **__hope the __**next**__ head of the Watcher's Council better remembers old obligations. Let him go, Amilyn."_

_Amilyn makes a face. _

"_With pleasure," he says. "This one is really rotten." _

_Travers scampers away._

"_Yes," Lothos says. "Yes, he is. But that is why he has the potential to return the Watcher's Council to its __**original**__ loyalties."_

_Lothos reaches up with his left hand to brush away a lock of his long blond hair from his face. There is a large ring on his hand with a red jewel. The jewel is embedded in a setting into which is carved the Circle of the Black Thorn. _

**Rome: November, 2003**

Dawn and Buffy are standing outside of Buffy's personal office bathroom. They look at one another, Buffy with an uncomfortable expression on her face, Dawn with an amused expression on her face. Buffy is wearing sunglasses, presumably to cover her red and yellow eyes.

"OK, Willow," Dawn says. "You're gonna have to come out sometime."

"I can't," we hear Willow say from behind the bathroom door. "I am _**way**_ too humiliated."

Buffy sighs.

"Will, I am _**really**_ sorry I overreacted like that," Buffy said. "I plead overprotective older sister instinct."

"Buffy, I have my _own_ boobs now," Dawn says, the amusement in her voice increasing. "Plus, I take gym in an _all girls_ school, and I work out in a _slayer_ academy that has a locker room _full_ of naked girls. I see _lots_ of boobies."

"Dawn," we hear Willow's voice say. "You're _not_ helping. And _I_ don't think Buffy overreacted."

"That's only because _**you**_ overreacted more than _she_ did," Dawn says. "It's _OK_, Willow, really."

Dawn turns to Buffy.

"Buffy, _tell_ her it's OK," Dawn says to her sister.

"Willow, it_ is_ OK," Buffy says. "And I promise, we'll all forget about it."

"No more talking about sending naked pictures to Giles or Xander?" Willow asks.

"_**What**_?" Dawn says, looking at her sister with wide eyes.

"Best friend teasing," Buffy says. "Nothing more. Already forgotten."

The door to Buffy's office opens, and Karyn McGrath comes in. She is tall, almost 6 feet tall, extremely pretty and blond. She is wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, and she has a towel around her neck.

"Hey Sunrise, Buffy," Karyn says. "What's up?"

"Willow's in the bathroom and won't come out," Dawn says.

"Really?" Karyn says. "When did Willow come in?"

"About 15 minutes ago on the teleport express," Dawn says.

"Your blood?" Karyn asks.

"My blood," Dawn confirms.

"Cool," Karyn says. "So why is Willow hiding in the bathroom?"

"Don't say anything, Dawn," Buffy says warningly. "I don't want _my_ best friend killing _your_ best friend."

"Buffy, I'm not killing anybody," Willow says from behind the door. "Except maybe for any person who would send naked pictures to Xander or Giles."

"_What_?" exclaims Karyn.

"That's what _I_ asked," Dawn says. "Buffy said it was a best friend thing."

"Dude," says Karyn to Dawn. "Are we doing the best friend thing wrong? We are _so_ not talking about sending naked pictures to Xander or Giles, especially…"

Dawn quickly puts her right index finger to her lips. Karyn immediately shuts up and makes a locking motion over her mouth. Then she mouths the word _sorry_ to Dawn.

As Dawn shrugs, Buffy knocks on the door to the bathroom.

"_C'mon _Willow," Buffy says. "Seriously, we need to get _started_ with this."

There is a moment's silence, then we hear Willow say, "OK."

The door opens. Willow comes out in a navy blue long sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and canvas tennis shoes. She walks by Buffy, Dawn, and Karyn, and she is blushing. Buffy gives Dawn a _not one word _look and follows Willow out of the office, leaving Dawn and Karyn together.

"So, Sunrise," Karyn says. "What exactly was _that_ about?"

Dawn shrugs.

"Remember that outfit that Kennedy's been trying to get Willow to wear?" Dawn asks.

Karyn makes a face as if putting effort into remembering, then her face brightens.

"Oh yeah, _that_ outfit," Karyn says. "So Willow was wearing one of _those_ when she teleported here?"

"Actually, she was wearing _half_," Dawn says. "The _bottom_ half."

"Willow was sunbathing _topless_?" Karyn says, her voice rising in disbelief. "That doesn't sound like Willow at _all_."

"And a_ thong_ _**does**_?" Dawn asks rhetorically. "But anyway, I don't think that's what happened. I think it just slipped off. Willow's not exactly experienced with bikini tops."

Karyn shakes her head.

"_Poor _Willow!" she says with feeling.

"Yeah," Dawn says. "Hey, _don't_ tell her I said anyth…"

The office door opens and Buffy sticks her head in.

"You guys _coming_?" she says.

"Right away, boss," says Karyn.

**Nottingham, England**

Giles is sitting in an intensive care room next to a hospital bed. He is reading a book, but we can't see the title. Laying on the bed is Edna Giles with an oxygen mask and multiple tubes. Monitors beep around her.

Edna Giles begins to moan lightly, then her eyelids flutter. Giles' eyebrow lifts and he closes his book, then bends over to put it on the floor. As he comes back up, Edna Giles opens her eyes, turns towards him, and smiles. She tries to say something, and can't.

"Don't try to talk," Giles says. "You've had a tube down your throat."

Edna Giles coughs and smiles again, and in a very hoarse voice says, "Well of course I have."

"You weren't expected to live," Giles says.

"Well, of course I wasn't," Edna Giles says. She then coughs again.

A nurse, a matronly woman in her late forties or early fifties, walks in and says to Giles very primly, "Pardon me."

Giles stands up as she checks his grandmother over.

"Hello, Dr. Giles," the nurse says loudly. "You are…"

"…in the hospital due to a gunshot wound." Edna Giles finishes impatiently. "Yes, yes. No need to shout by the way, I can hear you just fine."

The nurse's eyes go wide and she turns to look at Giles.

"Remarkable," she says. "Simply remarkable."

The nurse leaves the room. Our vantage point follows her as she leaves the intensive care area and walks to the nurse's desk.

"Call Dr. Whitehead, room 214 is _awake_," she says.

The eyes of the male nurse at the desk go wide.

"The hundred year old gunshot wound?' he says disbelievingly, but our vantage point moves on so don't hear the rest of what he has to say. We move on to the waiting room elevator, which opens to disgorge four people, two of them Lyssa and Caitlyn McGrath.

"Mom, I _hate_ it here," Caitlyn says.

"I know, honey," Lyssa says with a sigh. "I _know_. We won't stay too long."

Caitlyn goes over and turns on the television. Lyssa shakes her head and sighs again in an exasperated manner.

"So Rupert _still_ has the ability to irritate people," we hear a familiar, very gruff voice say. "I suppose I should not be surprised."

Lyssa turns, her eyes widening in shock. Sitting in one of the chairs, a copy of the Times sitting open on his lap, is Quentin Travers.

**Rome**

We are back in Buffy's office at the Rome Slayer Academy. Buffy, wearing her usual sunglasses, is sitting on her desk, while sitting in chairs around the front of the desk are Willow, Dawn, Karyn, and Robin Wood.

"So that's it," Buffy says. "It turns out that the old Watcher's Council was allied with Wolfram and Hart from the very beginning, and by shutting down the world's biggest and most active hellmouth, we've now set the stage for the main event. The Scrolls of Aberjian describe the upcoming fight, and our roles in it."

Karyn raises her hand.

"So, uhm, does this mean that I'm a _fake_ slayer?" she asks.

"Yes," Dawn says, looking at Karyn with a very serious expression on her face. "And that means that you have been dusting _fake _vampires and Turok-Han for the past 6 months, so turn in your stake now."

Buffy smiles slightly behind her dark sunglasses.

"No, Karyn," Buffy says. "You're not a _fake_ slayer, but apparently you and the others are a different kind of slayer from what I am."

Karyn nods, then turns to Dawn and whispers, "Hey, Sunrise, I was kidding. She _does_ know that I was_ kidding _right?"

"Believe me," Dawn whispers back. "She knows. You're maybe _half_ the smartass she was at your age."

"Good to have a new standard to aspire to then," Karyn whispers back, then pantomimes licking a pencil and writing something down. "Be as big a smartass as Buffy Summers, age 18."

"You'll never make it," Buffy says to Karyn. Robin, Karyn, and even Willow look startled. Dawn looks amused.

Buffy taps her right ear.

"Enhanced hearing too," she says.

Then Buffy's expression turns serious.

"Dawn will tell you the rest," she says.

Dawn stands up, stumbling slightly over Karyn's suddenly outstretched foot. Dawn makes an exaggerated face at Karyn, who reflects the face back.

"Ahem," Buffy says to Dawn.

Dawn's expression turns serious as she nods slightly to herself.

"Yeah," she says. "Apparently the selfsame Scrolls of Aberjian that describe the Female Trinity also talk quite a bit about the 'vampire with a soul'."

"Angel," Willow says.

"Yeah," Dawn says. "While we in the Female Trinity duke it out with the forces of darkness, the vampire with a soul is supposed to be the one who will tip the final balance. That probably explains why Wolfram and Hart, particularly the Los Angeles office, has been downright obsessed with him."

"And now Angel's _working_ for them," Robin says. "Sounds like he's made his choice."

"Not necessarily," Buffy says. "Angel's not exactly working _for_ Wolfram and Hart, he literally inherited _ownership_ of their LA office."

"Like a franchise," Willow says. "He inherits their obligations but he doesn't follow orders from them."

"But as he uses their resources to do what he _wants_ to do," Robin says. "Doesn't he start to become dependent on them?"

"I suspect that _is_ their strategy," Dawn says. "Wolfram and Hart's specialty is creating and spreading corruption in law, government and society. One way to do it is by creating dependencies."

"Isn't spreading corruption in law, government and society kind of, uhm, _redundant_?" asks Karyn.

Dawn shrugs.

"Maybe Wolfram and Hart are the ones who made it that way in the first place," Dawn says. "They've been around a long time. Remember, the Wolf, Ram, and Hart started the old Watcher's Council."

"How much of this do you think _Angel_ knows?" Robin asks.

"I don't know," Buffy says. "But he does know a lot about the way Wolfram and Hart work. In fact, much of what we know about them has come from information Angel supplied to us."

"So, we are going to _sneak_ into his offices to find the Scrolls?" Karyn says. "This isn't making sense to me. Isn't Angel our friend? I mean, he _did_ put us all up after the battle of the Hellmouth in that hotel of his."

Buffy shakes her head.

"_Angel _may be our friend," Buffy says. "But his office still _**ultimately**_ belongs to Wolfram and Hart, and we have just identified them as our primary enemies. We think they are behind the recent attacks on us and the Tokyo Academy. We can't afford to think of _any _Wolfram and Hart office, even Angel's, as safe territory."

"And Giles and I _need _to see the Scrolls of Aberjian as soon as possible," Dawn says. "So we're breaking into the Los Angeles office of Wolfram and Hart. And we're not tipping off anyone."

"Including Angel," Buffy adds.

"So how are we going to get into Wolfram and Hart undetected?" Robin asks.

"With this," Dawn says, reaching into her purse and pulling out a crystal. "This crystal is one of two that are on loan to us from the Devonshire Coven. Used properly, they create a cocoon of impenetrable illusion. Willow's going to use this crystal to create disguises for the four of us. Our man inside the Wolfram and Hart LA office has smuggled us the files of four employees who are on vacation. We're going to assume their identities, find the Scroll, copy it, and get out."

"Uhm, how are we going to_ find_ the scroll?" Robin asks. "Wolfram and Hart is an awfully big place."

"The Scroll is _Angel's_," Dawn says. "We don't think he would let it out of his possession, especially at Wolfram and Hart."

"So you think he has it on his person?" Robin asks.

"His person or his office," Buffy answers.

Dawn hands the crystal to Willow.

"Willow is going to create our disguises," Dawn says. "As a part of the disguise, we will be getting some background information on the people we are impersonating placed into our short term memory. The implanted memories will last for about three hours, so we will need to have the scrolls copied and be back here by then."

"Uhm," Karyn says, raising her hand. "Exactly _how_ are we supposed to _get_ to LA, much less be 'back here', in three hours?"

Willow clears her throat. Everyone turns to look at her.

"The same way I got here," she says. "I'm going to use the blood of the Key to send you, and to bring you back."

**Nottingham, England**

Lyssa is giving Quentin Travers a hug.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she asks incredulously. "You were supposed to have been killed by the explosion at the Watcher's Council!"

Travers pulls a small crystal out of his suit jacket pocket and starts to polish it. Lyssa immediately starts to stare at it as if it were the most important thing in the world.

"Actually, _most_ of us were able to get away before the bomb was set off," Travers says. "We had a man inside The First's inner circle, and he was able to warn us."

Travers then chuckles dryly.

"Well, he wasn't exactly a _man_ per se," he says.

"But why didn't you find us, join us, after the bomb went off?" Lyssa asks as she continues to stare at the crystal Travers is polishing. "Giles, Buffy, and the potentials were all off on their own. My husband was _killed_ protecting our oldest daughter, Karyn, from harbringers. Did you know she was a potential? That she is now a slayer? Like I am? Like…?"

"Of course I knew," Travers says. "But we had to stay in hiding because the opposition has its own spies, and I am very afraid that our good friend Rupert has now been taken in by one of them."

"His grandmother?" Lyssa asks, her gaze still focused on the crystal. "I _knew _it!"

"I'm sorry to tell you that the woman in intensive care is not Giles' grandmother," Travers says. "Or, for that matter, even a woman."

"Some sort of demon in disguise?" Lyssa asks.

Travers raises the crystal to the light, and polishes it some more. Lyssa's gaze continues to follow the crystal in Travers hand.

"A one hundred and two year old woman with _her _degree of vigor?" Travers says. "What else _could_ she be?"

"Quentin, what do I _do_?" Lyssa asks, her voice urgent.

"She's a demon, and you are, finally, the slayer I always thought you would be," he answers. "So what you _should_ be doing is obvious, don't you think?"

With that, Travers puts the crystal in his pocket and walks away.

Caitlyn turns away from the television, which is showing an episode of the original _Who's Line is it Anyway?_ Colin and Greg are playing with what look like two purple highway cones.

"Mom, can we …" Caitlyn stops and looks around. "_**Mom**_?"

But Lyssa is no longer in the waiting room.

**Rome**

Willow is sitting cross legged on the floor staring intently into the crystal from Devonshire. Her hair has white streaks and her eyes are emitting a blue light. A similar glow is illuminating the room. Then, the glow in the room and from Willow's eyes fade, and her hair returns to its normal red color.

"OK, that's it," Willow says.

Willow looks at the three young women and one man in front of her. One of them, a tall brunette in a very lawyerly outfit, says in Buffy's voice, "How do we look?"

"Just like four high powered attorneys," says Willow.

A short blond says, "Ewwww." The voice is Dawn's.

The tall sandy haired man, obviously the oldest of the four, but still relatively young, says, "Dawn's right. No need to rub it in." The voice is Robin's.

Karyn is looking at the skin on her hands. She is disguised as a pretty young black woman, about the same height as the disguised Dawn.

"_Cool_," she says. "I don't suppose we will be able to keep these clothes."

"The clothes, like the bodies, are illusions," Willow says.

Then Willow whispers to Buffy.

"Is she _always_ this dense?" she asks.

"What?" Buffy whispers back. "Doesn't that sound like something I would have said under the same circumstances? In fact, I probably _would_ have said it if she hadn't beat me to it."

"No, you wouldn't," Willow whispers. "You're way too serious and all 'Miss Professional' in front of the new slayers."

Dawn has taken a mirror out of her purse and she and Karyn are looking at it and admiring their reflections. Robin is looking over their shoulders.

"Short and blond," Robin says to Dawn. "You kind of look like your big sister."

"Hey," Dawn says. "_Watch_ it."

Dawn then closes the mirror.

"OK," she says. "Time to go."

Dawn replaces the mirror in her purse and pulls out three vials of blood. She hands them to Karyn, Robin, and finally Buffy.

"What's this for?" Robin asks.

"You drink half it when it starts to glow green," Karyn says. "You'll be inclined to gag at first but then…what a rush."

Willow has resumed her cross legged sit on the floor and started to recite a spell under her breath. Dawn picks up the crystal and puts it into her purse.

"What are you taking that for?" asks Buffy.

"I'm going to be the conduit through which Willow maintains the illusion spell," Dawn says. "The conduit needs to be in possession of the crystal to maintain the illusion over such great distances."

Our view switches to Karyn looking intently at her vial. When the liquid begins to glow a bright green, she pulls off the stopper and drinks about half. Then she looks at Dawn.

"Why aren't _you_ drinking some of this stuff?" she asks Dawn.

The whites of Dawn's eyes, as well as a few of her veins, are glowing bright green.

"Oh _yeah_," Karyn says.

A green glow arises from all four of the disguised people. Then, in rapid succession, there are four loud pops of imploding air, and the four are gone.

**Los Angeles**

The disguised Buffy, Dawn, Robin, and Karyn enter into Wolfram and Hart. All around them is chaos. Phones are ringing, and several employees are arguing with a tall black man.

"This place is shut down," he says. "No one goes in or out until I can inform management of what is happening."

"Well, _that_ creates a problem," the disguised Robin whispers as the four walk by.

"There's some sort of chaos spell here," Dawn says. "Localized and strong. It should burn itself out in a couple of hours or so, but we should stay on guard."

"Will this keep us from teleporting out of here once we get what we came for?" asks Buffy.

"It might," says Dawn grimly.

"OK, Robin, let's move around like we belong here," Buffy says. "See if we can find Angel's office. Dawn, you and Karyn try to find our contact, see if he can tell us anything."

"Right," says Dawn.

We follow Dawn and Karyn as they move through Wolfram and Hart.

"Excuse me," Dawn says to a person passing by. "Can you tell me where the library is?"

The woman she stops looks at her like she's lost her mind.

"Peggy, you _work _in the library," she says to the disguised Dawn.

"Sure I do," Dawn says, not missing a beat. "We're just checking to make sure that most of the employees know where we are. Library use is not up with projections."

The woman shakes her head.

"Angel and his 'openness' policies," she says with disdain, making airquote motions while saying _openness_. Then she pauses and looks horror struck. "You aren't going to tell anyone I _said_ that are you?"

"It'll be our secret," Karyn says.

The woman does not look reassured.

"So do you know where you could find us?" Dawn asks.

"Take the main elevator down to sublevel 2, second door on the right," she says. Then she walks away before she can be asked anything else.

"Nice save, Sunrise," Karyn says.

"Yeah," says Dawn. "Let's go."

Dawn and Karyn start to make their way toward the main row of elevators. Karyn looks up and then our view shifts to see what she sees. What we see is a quick view of Spike leading Harmony by the hand.

"_Wait_ a minute," Karyn says. "Sunrise, did you see that?"

"Call me Peggy, and _you_ are Olivia," Dawn says.

"Come with me," Karyn says. "We've _gotta _take a look at this!"

"_No_," Dawn says. "What we've _gotta _do is contact our inside guy."

"And we _will_, but we really have to take a look at this first," Karyn says. "If I saw who I thought I did, it's _important_."

"Who do you think you saw?" Dawn asks.

"I don't wanna say," Karyn responds. "You'll think I'm crazy."

With that, Karyn starts to climb the stairs.

"_**Karyn**_," Dawn whispers forcefully. "_**No**_, we need to stay _away_ from there. Let Buffy and Robin look up there. We need to find Sir…"

"Call me _Olivia_," Karyn whispers back airily. "And…and…uh oh."

Karyn stops climbing the stairs about three steps from the top, allowing Dawn to catch up and grab her by the arm. At the head of the stairs, Angel is standing with Charles Gunn.

"May I help you?" Gunn asks. "Are you two lost?"

"_Sorry_," Dawn says. "My friend thought she saw someone she _knew_ up here."

Dawn looks significantly at Karyn.

"But she made a mistake, _**didn't**_ you Olivia?" Dawn says.

"Uhm, yeah, I did," Karyn says, an embarrassed look on her disguised features. "Sorry to disturb you two, see you later."

As Dawn and Karyn rapidly descend the stairway, we see Gunn and Angel standing together.

"Don't those two work down in the library?" Angel asks.

"Yeah, they're Wes's all right," Gunn says. "When the cat's away, the mice will etc. etc., I guess."

Gunn then shakes his head.

"Funny thing though," he says. "I thought Wes told me that those two _hated_ each other."

"Let's go to my office," Angel says. "I _really_ think we need to discuss what just happened with Spike, much as I don't want to."

Angel and Gunn turn and walk away. The phones continue to ring incessantly. We follow Angel and Gunn as they walk up to large double doors and go through them. Angel is ruefully looking at the drained coffee cup in his right hand as the door closes behind him.

In the hallway outside of Angel's office, the disguised Buffy and Robin walk into frame.

"Well, there it is," Buffy whispers nervously.

"Now what?" Robin asks.

"Now we wait for them to come out again, then we do a quick search of his office."

"That…that does not exactly strike me as a _brilliant_ plan," Robin says.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to find what we are looking for and Willow can get us out before anyone is the wiser," Buffy says. "Fortunately, Willow says we don't all have to be standing together for her to get us out."

As Buffy and Robin talk, Lorne walks by.

"What kind of demon is that?" Robin asks. "Can't say it looks familiar."

"I dunno," Buffy says. "Maybe a tacky suit demon or a…_wait a minute_. I think Willow mentioned him as being one of _Angel's_ friends. Lawrence…Len…something like…"

"Hey, partner," we hear Lorne's voice say out of view. "I need to _**hey! What are you doing with that…"**_

"_**Replace**__**the goddamn toner!" **_a man's voice yells. _**"That's all I ask!" **_

**DONG!**

"Come _on_," Buffy says, jogging quickly in the direction that Lorne took. Robin follows, also at a jog.

Buffy and Robin round the corner, and we are in a copier room. One man is lying on the floor, his face hidden but blood running from the top of his head. Lorne is lying on his back, his right hand up defensively. Standing over him is what appears to be a madman with blood running out of his eyes. He is raising a fire extinguisher over his head like a bludgeon.

"_**Hey**_!" Buffy says__loudly.

The man turns around and rushes Buffy.

"_**I'm going to kill you**_!" he screams.

Buffy easily catches the descending fire extinguisher with her left hand while knocking him out with her right, obviously not really thinking about being in disguise.

Robin walks over to Lorne.

"Are you OK?" he asks.

"Call security, pronto," Lorne says to Robin. "Before that guy wakes up and tries to brain us all again. Good thing the young lady's got moves that could get her cast in a Jackie Chan movie. I can _arrange_ that by the way."

"Uhm," Robin says. "I'm sorry, I don't have my cell phone."

"Me either," Buffy says.

Lorne stays seated on the floor and holds his head.

"What kind of lawyers _are_ you kids?" he asks. Then he pulls out his own cell phone.

"Security?" we hear Lorne say in the background as our viewpoint centers on Buffy and Robin.

"We need to get _out _of here," Buffy whispers to Robin. "This sort of thing is going to attract Angel's attention."

Suddenly, Dawn and Karyn appear in the frame as well.

"Hi guys," Dawn says. "What's up?"

"What are _you_ two doing here?" Buffy asks. "Did you find…?"

"No," Dawn says. "He wasn't in his office. And Angel is now downstairs with his friends Gunn and Fred."

"He'll be back up here soon enough," Buffy says, stepping aside to reveal Lorne speaking on the phone while holding his head, the unconscious "toner man", and the body of his late victim. "Let's make sure we're all elsewhere before he shows up."

"Excuse me miss…_Victoria_, right?" a familiar voice says. "Are you all right?"

Buffy, Dawn, Robin, and Karyn all turn to see Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

"Uhm…" Buffy says. "I'm fine. Just fine."

Wesley's eyebrows raise speculatively.

Buffy lowers her voice and speaks again with a very fake sounding southern accent.

"Ah'm really fine, thank you kindly, good sir," Buffy says.

Dawn gives her an "I don't know you" look. Wesley shakes his head as if waking up from a daydream and moves away.

"Better stay put," he says. "I'll see if this madness is going on anywhere else."

"Hey, folks," Lorne says from behind them. "That wasn't by any chance…?"

Lorne then shakes his head as if answering his own question.

"No, couldn't have been."

"Couldn't have been what?" Dawn whispers to Buffy.

"Or _who_," Buffy whispers back. "We _really _need to get out of here before anyone else decides to ask us questions."

"Speaking of not drawing _unwanted_ _attention_ to ourselves, what was _that_ with the really fake southern accent?" Dawn asks Buffy.

"Virginia, the lawyer I'm impersonating, is from…" Buffy says.

"Virginia?" Dawn finishes.

"No, Kentucky," Buffy says.

"That was supposed to be a _Kentucky_ accent?" Dawn whispers. "We're _doomed_. Wesley's really smart, he'll probably see through that accent as well as I would."

"Shut _up_ about the accent and let's get _out _of here," Buffy whispers back.

The four walk away, quietly but quickly. Robin appears to bump into someone who isn't there. A man in a wife beater tee-shirt, covered by tattoos, briefly becomes visible. The man is Lindsey McDonald. Robin's true features also briefly appear, but before either man can look the other, Lindsey vanishes and Robin's mystical disguise returns.

Buffy stops, turns, and whispers to Robin.

"What now?" she asks. Karyn and Dawn continue on their way.

"Don't know," Robin says. "It felt like I bumped _into_ someone."

Meanwhile, up ahead Karyn gestures to Dawn to follow her around a corner.

"Karyn?" Dawn asks.

"I think whoever it was I saw went this way," Karyn says. She looks into an office. Then she stops.

"Oh wow," she whispers softly. "_Dawn_, I was _right_. You've _**got**_ to _**see**_ this!"

Dawn approaches the window and looks in.

"Dawn," Karyn whispers. "Doesn't that look like…?"

Our viewpoint shifts to the inside of the office. Two people are seriously "dry humping" on the desk. One of them is clearly…

"_**Spike**__!_" Dawn whispers disbelievingly. "That looks like…"

"Uhm…" Karyn whispers in a forced conversational tone, "Is _he_…?"

"Yeah," Dawn says. "He is, and that better not be…oh God oh _God_!"

Dawn shakes her wrists as if she has just touched something disgusting.

"Ewwwww! _Harmony_! He's back and he's boinking _**Harmony**_!"


	5. Act 3

A reminder to anyone who _might _find this story entertaining or interesting: You might want to check out the prequel to this story, _Caliban's Daughters_. Either way, _**heeeere's**_ (in the voice of Ed McMahon)…

Act 3

_**Manhattan, Kansas: February, 1977**_

_We are in the gymnasium at Manhattan High School. Four teenaged boys are shooting basketball. One of them is a very large young man with longish blond hair and a broad build usually more associated with a football player than a basketball player. One of the other young men shoots a brick. The large young man rebounds the ball, dribbles the ball while taking three quick backward steps, then shoots the ball from the free throw line. As the ball swishes through the basket without touching the rim, we hear a girl's voice yell "whooo!" while clapping her hands. _

"_Way to go, McGrath!" we hear a girl's voice yell. Our vantage point shifts to Lyssa Carter, who is walking into the gym in blue jeans, brown shoes, and a burgundy sweater. She is also wearing an open light tan coat with white shag on the collar and sleeves, and a red backpack on top of the open coat. _

"_**Hey,**__ Lyssa," one of the other boys says. "You're boyfriend was telling us that you could do something with a basketball that we had to see to believe. Why don't you show us?"_

_Lyssa turns and glares at her boyfriend and future husband, John McGrath. _

"_At least it wasn't something about a cucumber," she says, eliciting a chorus of snickers, "ooohs", and whistles. _

"_C'mon," John says. "Let's show them."_

_Lyssa shakes her head and looks at John._

"_You know I'm not supposed to show off like…" Lyssa says, but her voice trails off as her boyfriend makes puppy dog eyes at her, brings the palms of his hands together, and mouths __**please**__._

"_Oh, all right," Lyssa says. "I'll do this __**once**__." _

_She walks to the edge of the court and shrugs off her backpack and coat. Then she comes back and stands at the free throw line. _

"_Stand back everybody," John says. "Give her room." He stands just inside the free throw line at a 90 degree angle from Lyssa, who is facing the basket. _

"_Whenever you're ready," Lyssa says. John tosses the basketball straight up in the air and steps back. Lyssa quickly steps back and turns to the side, brings her right foot up, and karate kicks the ball as it descends. The kick is very controlled. We follow the ball as it travels up to the basket and swishes through perfectly. _

"_What'd I tell you?" John says to his team mates, who are standing with their mouths open in disbelief. _

"_**No**__ way!" the boy who first challenged Lyssa says. "Do that __**again**__!" _

"_C'mon Lyssa," John says. "Let's do it. Further back this time."_

"_John, if I get caught doing this, you have __**no**__ idea how much trouble I could get into," Lyssa says. _

_Again, John makes with the puppy dog eyes and pleading hands. _

"_Get the damn ball," Lyssa says. _

_Lyssa moves halfway between the free throw circle and the half court line. John brings the ball to her, and stands at a right angle just in front of her as he did before. He tosses the ball up and steps back, and Lyssa again kicks the ball through the basket, this time yelling "ha!" as she does so. _

_This time, the boys break into spontaneous and enthusiastic applause. _

_John grins at his girlfriend. _

"_OK, half court line," he says._

"_**No,**__ John," Lyssa says. "I have to go to my private lessons now and…"_

"_**Lyssa**__," a gruff voice says loudly and sternly. _

_Lyssa whirls and her eyes go wide._

"_Oh sh-," she starts to say, but Travers interrupts her._

"_Lyssa, come over here please," Travers says from the gymnasium door. "__**Now**__."_

_Lyssa turns and glares at John._

"_Thanks a lot, I am really __**busted**__," she says to him. Then she walks over to Travers._

"_Let's walk," Travers says. Lyssa nods wordlessly, and they both walk out of the gym._

_Our vantage point switches back to John and his friends. _

"_Who was __**that**__ guy?" one of the boys asks John. _

"_I think that's Lyssa's private tutor," John replies. _

"_Really?" another one of the boys says. "What's he teach her?" _

_John shrugs._

"_I have no idea, and she won't tell me," he says. _

"_I wonder if it has anything to do with her being able to kick basketballs into the basket," the boy who challenged Lyssa says. _

"_I don't know," John replies. "Maybe."_

_We return to Travers and Lyssa as they walk through a high school hallway. _

"_Look," Lyssa says. "I'm __**really**__ sorry. I know I'm not supposed to…"_

_Travers chuckles, and Lyssa is clearly startled at the chuckle. She stops and stares at him._

"_Never mind about that," Travers says. "Even 24 hours ago I would have been quite cross about you showing off like that. But now it really no longer matters."_

"_Wh…what do you mean?" Lyssa asks. "Is there something __**wrong**__? I mean, you've __**never**__ come to school before."_

"_Nikki Wood was killed on a subway train in New York last week," Travers says. _

"_Oh," Lyssa says very quietly. "Was it Lothos?"_

"_No, curiously enough, it was a relatively young vampire by the name of Spike," Travers says. "I imagine that Lothos is __**very**__ disappointed." _

"_So what does this __**mean**__?" Lyssa asks._

_Quentin shrugs. _

"_Well, if Miss Wood had had the good grace to die even a year ago, things might have been different," Travers says. "But as it stands, I am glad she didn't."_

"_What do you mean?" Lyssa asks. _

"_A new slayer has been called in Afghanistan," Travers says. _

_Lyssa's head drops. _

"_So, I wasn't chosen," she says. "You must be so __**disappointed**__ in me."_

"_Disappointed?" Travers says. "Good heavens, __**no**__! I'm __**happy**__ for you, and you should be happy for you as well. You now have your whole __**life**__ ahead of you."_

"_Maybe I'll still be called after the Afghanistan slayer…you know," Lyssa says._

_Travers shakes his head. _

"_If you were going to be called, you would have been called __**now**__," he says. "Your time has passed."_

"_So, what about tonight's lesson?" Lyssa asks. _

"_There will be __**no**__ more lessons, Lyssa," Travers says. "You will be able to fully embrace your life here: Your schoolwork, your boyfriend, and your future. I will return to England. I came to say goodbye."_

"_**Wait**__," Lyssa says. "Shouldn't we at least have dinner together or something before you go?"_

"_Why don't you have dinner with that young man of yours?" Travers says. "I have reservations to fly home tonight. I'm leaving you my car, my taxi is waiting outside."_

"_Wait, but…" Lyssa says._

_Travers kisses her on the forehead. _

"_**Goodbye,**__ Lyssa," he says. Then he turns and walks away. Lyssa watches him with a stunned, almost heartbroken look on her face. We follow Travers as he walks down the corridor, Lyssa a shinking figure in the background. When he is a good distance away, he mutters softly:_

"_Good riddance."_

**Nottingham, England: November, 2003**

Caitlyn runs from the waiting room and by the nurse's station. The nurse, the same 50ish woman who was there when Edna Giles awoke, stands up and yells at Caitlyn to stop. But the little slayer is much too fast, and she lowers her shoulder and slams through the doors.

"_Good __**heavens**_!" the nurse exclaims as the locked doors are broken and forced apart by a young girl.

We follow Caitlyn as she runs through the hallway. Then we see the male nurse, followed by what looks to be an orderly, thrown out of one of the intensive care rooms. The male nurse is in somewhat better shape, and manages to half crawl and stagger to an intercom.

"_**Security**_!" he yells. "We need immediate help! We have a crazed woman who is strong as an ox. We can't _stop_ her and she is trying to _**kill**__ a __**patient**_!"

The male nurse's jaw drops and his eyes go wide as he sees Caitlyn run by him.

"Little girl, _**wait**_!" he yells. But then another, more familiar, male voice cries out.

"_**Caitlyn**_!" Giles yells. "In _here_! _**Hurry**_!"

Caitlyn runs into the room. Giles is slumped against the far wall, his right arm at a funny angle. Lyssa is tearing the oxygen mask away from Edna Giles' face with one hand while pulling a pillow out from under her head with the other. She then puts the pillow over Edna's face.

"Mom, _**NO**_!!" Caitlyn yells. She then places her hands over her mother's wrists, engaging in a superhuman tug of war to pull the pillow off of Edna's face.

"_**Stop**_ it, Mom!" Caitlyn yells. However, Lyssa as the adult slayer appears too strong for her 12 year old daughter.

"Caitlyn," Lyssa says. "Go _back_ to the waiting room. Mommy will see you out there."

"She can't stop, Caitlyn," Giles says. "Your mother's enthralled."

"What??" Caitlyn says as she still tries to pull her mother's hands and the pillow away from Edna's face.

"It means someone is _controlling_ her," Giles says.

"You mean the man my Mom was talking to out in the lobby?" Caitlyn asks Giles.

"_Probably_ so, yes," Giles says as he staggers to his feet. Edna's weak struggles are getting weaker. "We have to _**stop**_ _her_!"

At Giles' words, the expression on Caitlyn's face shows new resolve, and instead of trying to pull her mother's hands back, she moves her hands to the pillow and tears it in half, uncovering Edna's face. Edna inhales with a loud gasp, and Caitlyn steps between her mother and her intended victim.

"Caitlyn, stand aside," Lyssa says in a calm voice. "Mommy needs to _kill _the demon that is pretending to be Mrs. Giles."

"_**No,**_ Mom," Caitlyn says. "She's _**not**_ a demon. It's that other man, he _did_ something to you. He _**lied**_ to you."

"Quentin Travers is my _watcher_, honey," Lyssa says. "He wouldn't lie to me."

Both Edna's and Giles' eyes go wide.

"Yes, Mom," Caitlyn says. "He's _lying_ to you and he's making you hurt people. People like your _boyfriend _and your _boyfriend's_ grandma! You _broke_ Giles' _arm,_ Mom!"

Lyssa starts to waver, then she shakes her head vigorously.

"Get _out_ of my way, Caitlyn, or I'll have to _**make**_ you get out of my way" saying this, Lyssa draws back her right fist threateningly. Caitlyn's eyes widen in shock and hurt.

"_Mom_?" she says in a soft, scared voice.

"Caitlyn..." Lyssa says in a tone of warning, but then her expression switches to one of realization and shock.

We hear the voice of a younger Quentin Travers, as if from a great distance.

"_**Then**__ I will tell you some stories of my __**own**__."_

"Caitlyn, oh _Caitlyn_," Lyssa says, sinking to her knees. "Oh God, I'm so _sorry_."

Mother and daughter hug. Giles, even though he is in evident great pain, sighs with relief as he checks on his grandmother. Then the male nurse slams into Giles, staggering him. At first, it looks as if he is attacking Giles, but then he slides off Giles and falls to the floor. His neck has been broken.

"Well," we hear Travers' gruff voice say. "A family reunion. Isn't this just _precious_."

Travers then steps into the room. Giles attempts to step between Travers and his grandmother, but before he can finish his intention, Caitlyn runs forward and yells "Get _**out**_!"

In response, Travers grabs Caitlyn by the throat and turns her around, facing Lyssa.

"Finish your task, Lyssa, like a _good_ girl," he says. "Or _your_ girl will end up like _this_ man…"

He nudges the dead nurse with his left foot.

"…and the poor sod in the hallway."

Lyssa looks at him, her eyes wide with shock and hurt.

"Very well, if you're _still_ too squeamish, I'll do it myself," Travers says. "But first…"

Just as the screen goes black, we hear a wet crack.

**Los Angeles**

We return to a view of the disguised Dawn and Karen looking through the office window at Spike and Harmony.

"Dawn, _what_ are you and Karyn looking at?" we hear Buffy's voice say. Dawn and Karyn turn and we see the disguised Buffy and Robin standing behind them.

"Sex in an office," Dawn says without batting an eye.

"_What_?" Buffy says quietly but intensely. Behind her, we see various security staff run by, followed by Angel and Eve. Buffy turns and sees Angel, and ducks her head closer into Dawn.

"We are _so_ going to have a talk when we get back!" she hisses to Dawn. "But now, we need to get out of here before we find out that the crystal's illusion doesn't extend to _smell." _

Dawn and Karyn, looking slightly chastened and rather tense, follow Buffy as she starts down the hall away from the office and the copier room. Robin looks back and starts to approach the window when we hear Buffy's voice hiss _**"NO!"**_

Robin draws himself up short and follows Buffy, Dawn, and Karyn. In the background, we hear Lorne's voice as he recounts to Angel what happened.

"Then I see Mr. Considerate here, _covered _in blood, making mashed potatoes of _this _guy, and before I can get to 'what's wrong with _this _picture?' he _clocks_ me right in the coconut!"

We don't hear Angel's response because we follow the disguised foursome down the steps to the lobby.

"Dawn," Buffy says. "Take Karyn and go back to the library and wait for our contact."

"But…" Dawn says.

"Not _one more word_, Dawnie!" Buffy says. "C'mon, Robin."

"_Don't_ call me Dawnie," Dawn mutters sullenly as Buffy and Robin walk away.

We follow Buffy and Robin.

"So, what now?" Robin asks.

"_Now_?" Buffy responds. "Since _now_ it looks like we are going to be _waiting_ awhile, we go to the cafeteria and we see if they serve a nice mocha."

"Are you sure that's w_ise_?" Robin asks. "Maybe _I_ should go with Dawn while Karyn goes with you, since they seem to get into such trouble together."

"No, _you_ come with me," Buffy says. "Karyn doesn't _deserve_ mocha goodness. _What_ am I going to tell her mom? 'Oh, so _sorry,_ Lyssa, I let your daughter watch _**office sex**_ in the world's most _evil_ law firm'. She's gonna _kill_ me, if _I _don't kill Dawn first!"

**Nottingham, England**

At first there is blackness.

"Curious," we hear Travers voice say.

Then there is light, and we see again. Travers is standing where he was when last we saw him, just inside the door to Edna's hospital room. However, now Travers' right arm is twisted away from his body. Indeed, the arm looks like it has been half ripped away, with red and green goo dripping from open tears in the flesh. Underneath the flesh, we see wires spitting sparks, and a metallic skeleton.

"Mom," Caitlyn says, looking up at her former captor. "Mom, I think he's a _robot_."

"Curious," Travers says again. "I didn't _realize_ that your _youngest_ is _also_ a slayer."

"I've tried to keep her out of things," Lyssa says. Then with lightning speed she slams up against the Travers duplicate, carrying him out of the hospital room and smashing him into the opposite wall in the hallway. She pins him against the wall, and her face is now a mask of rage.

"_Didn't…anyone…ever…warn…you…not...to mess with…the __**Mommy**_?" Lyssa says.

"Oh but I _have _been messing with you, and for a _very_ long time," the Travers duplicate says.

"No, it _wasn't_ you," Lyssa says. "You're nothing but a robot. A _false _Quentin, trying to sully his memory."

"My dear young lady," the robotic Quentin says in a patronizing tone. "_**Who**_ do you think sent me? Don't you recognize _this_?"

So saying, the Travers duplicate uses his good arm to pull the crystal he had previously been polishing out of his coat pocket. This time, however, Lyssa swipes it out of his hand without looking at it.

"That _won't_ work again," Lyssa says.

"Evidently _not_," the Travers duplicate says. "However, it _did_ work just a few minutes before, and it worked because you had been primed to respond to it _years _ago. _Who_ do you think primed you to respond to it?"

Lyssa looks at the Travers duplicate, her expression still extremely angry, but now there is a hint of doubt in her expression.

"Quentin," she says softly. "_Quentin_ used to have me spend _hours_ staring into that thing. 'Deep meditation', he called it."

"Indeed he did," the Travers duplicate says. Then he moves his head to look at Giles and Caitlyn in the hospital room. "Well, it _has_ been entertaining, but it is time for me to go."

"You're not going _anywhere_," Lyssa snarls.

The Travers duplicate smiles, a horribly triumphant smile.

"Actually, we are _**all**_ 'going somewhere'," he says. "Look into my eyes, Lyssa. We are _**all**_ going to Kingdom Come."

Lyssa looks, and then we see what she sees. Within the pupil of each eye there is a red LED display, depicting a countdown.

11…10…9…

"_**Giles**_!" Lyssa yells. "_Keep everyone_ _**inside**_! I think he's a _**bomb**_!"

Our vantage point switches to inside the hospital room. We see Lyssa move with sudden, superhuman speed to the right, carrying the Travers duplicate out of the doorway and out of our view.

"_**MOM**_!" Caitlyn yells.

Grimacing in pain, Giles quickly sinks to his knees, blocking Caitlyn's progress out the door. Even as he does so we hear, and see a flash of light from, a tremendous explosion. Plaster comes off of the walls in the hospital room. We see some debris blow into the hall from the direction that Lyssa ran in. Immediately after the explosion, we also see flames and smoke.

"_Mom_?" Caitlyn whispers fearfully. "_**Mom**_? _**Mom**_! _**Mommy!!!**_"

Caitlyn shoves Giles aside and runs into the hall. Giles covers his eyes with his left hand and starts to cry silently, tears running down his face.

**Los Angeles**

"Well, it's about time you got here," Sirk says to the disguised Dawn and Karyn as they enter into the library.

"We were just here a few minutes ago," Dawn says. "We didn't see you, and the library was locked."

"Well, you see there is this room called 'the necessary'," Sirk says, his voice dripping with condescension. "If you'd have had the patience to wait just a few minutes, we wouldn't have to rush through this."

"Rush through what?" Karyn asks. "And by the way, where are all the books? Isn't this a _library_?"

"Which one of you is Dawn Summers, the one with _intelligence_?" Sirk asks, ignoring Karyn's questions. "_Please_ tell me one of you is the younger Miss Summers."

"That would be me," Dawn answers. "Now, what is it you want us to 'rush through'?"

Sirk pulls out one of the massive books sitting upright on his desk and opens it.

"This," Sirk says. "The Scrolls of Aberjian."

"_You_ have the scrolls?" Dawn asks. "I thought Angel would keep them in his possession."

Sirk sighs in apparent exasperation.

"He did," Sirk says. "But from these books I can call up any document in any Wolfram and Hart library, in any dimension where we have offices. And unlike Angel's copy, the copies called into this book will be _complete_."

"_Really_?" Dawn says, suddenly very interested.

"Yes," Sirk says. "Now, the Scrolls have been translated into a variety of languages. Angel's copy was in proto-Bantu. There are also Sumerian, Abyssinian, and Old Kingdom Egyptian translations. I've heard there is also a Mayan translation as well, but I can't seem to call it up."

"What language were they originally written in?" Dawn asks.

"?'krevlonian," Sirk says. "You probably haven't heard of it, it was spoken by…"

"The people who created the Aurignacian stone age culture in Western Europe," Dawn finishes. "Hints of it are found in cave paintings, but most of it was hidden inside of goddess figurines. It was the secret language of the priestess class back then, and has remained a secret since. It's thought to have originally been either a demon or higher being language, and it's the language that the first watcher journals were kept in."

"My _God_," Sirk says, his entire affect changed into one of abject admiration. "I must admit I find myself at a loss for words…"

Sirk then shakes his head.

"I _have_ to go," he says, picking up another massive book. "I was summoned by Angel while I was waiting for you. Ironically, I am being asked by my employer to review the Shanshu Prophecy, which is contained in this very Scroll you wish to examine. You may use the open book here to conduct your own review. Which translation would you like to review?"

"Better make it Sumerian," Dawn says. "I am completely fluent in that now. I would also like the original ?'krevlonian side by side with it, if possible."

"Remarkable," Sirk says. He then says to the open book, "Scrolls of Aberjian. Two columns. ?'krevlonian on the left, Sumerian translation on the right."

Sirk then picks up his other book and starts towards the door. Without looking at him, Dawn grabs him by the upper arm as he walks by.

"Ow!" Sirk exclaims.

"Just one more thing," Dawn says. "What's with the local chaos spell you cast here?"

"What chaos…" Sirk starts to ask. "_**Ow**_!!"

"Don't try to lie to me," Dawn says. "Trust me, you aren't that smart and you wouldn't want a combination witch and slayer mad at you."

"I am assisting one of Angel's enemies in running a con on him," Sirk says. "It won't hurt him, but it will put doubts in his head. Once the con is done, Angel will be aware I have betrayed him and I hope to be long gone by that time. I don't want to face him, and I _certainly_ don't want to face Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who I assure you I find much more intimidating than I find you."

"You find _Wesley_ intimidating?" Dawn says in disbelief. Then she shakes her head. "Never mind. Giles _trusted_ you. Maybe I'll give you to _him _to…"

"I have not, nor will I, betray Rupert's trust," Sirk says. "_He_ knows why, _I _know why, _you_ don't need to know why. Suffice it to say that anything I do for you at his request will be above the board. On the other hand, if you keep me from going to see Angel now, he will come down looking for me, and you have a very limited time to take your pictures of the Scrolls as it is."

Dawn and Sirk stare at each other.

"If what you are doing results in death or serious injury to Angel, I will hunt you down myself," Dawn says. "I will find you, and I will hurt you. Is that clear?"

Sirk nods.

"Get out," Dawn says.

Sirk leaves. Dawn turns and looks at Karyn.

"Not one word about this is said to Buffy," Dawn says.

"Are you sure?" Karyn says.

"Positive," Dawn says as she goes to the book and starts to page through it rapidly.

"Uhm," Karyn says. "Where's the _camera_?"

"_I'm_ the camera," Dawn says. "I'm sending the images through my link with Willow, and she is duplicating them on a computer."

"Oh," Karyn says. "OK."

**Los Angeles, eleven minutes later**

Buffy and Robin are standing in the lobby, looking at the stairway to the next floor. Sirk is going down the stairs with his typically sour expression. Even as he is holding the massive book with both arms he is rubbing his upper right arm where Dawn had grabbed him. Our view switches face on to the disguised Buffy and Robin.

"Wasn't that our inside guy?" Robin asks Buffy.

"It was," Buffy says. Then she looks up. "Let's get out of here before Angel shows up. I don't know if Willow's spell extends to how we smell."

On cue, we hear Angel's voice bellow.

"_Spike!_ Where the Hell _are_ you?"

Up at the head of the stairs, we see Angel. He pauses, his face suddenly assuming a look of concentration. He starts to sniff.

Our view switches back to Buffy and Robin. Both of their eyes are opened as wide as they can be. Robin turns to Buffy, his eyes still wide.

"Maybe he means a _different_ Spike," he says. "It might be a popular _demon_ name, _right_?"

Gunn walks to Angel's side, his expression worried. Angel pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and punches in a number.

"Hello, motor pool?" he says. "By any chance did you see a certain peroxide headed _pest_ in the past minute or so?"

Buffy turns to Robin.

"No, it's _our_ Spike," she says. "Angel wouldn't use that tone of voice talking about _anyone_ else."

"He overpowered you and took keys?" Angel is asking. "What did he take the keys to?"

Angel's expression darkens as he hears the answer.

"Damn it! He took the _**Viper**_?"

Angel slams shut the cell phone and turns to Gunn.

"I have to go _now_!" he says. "As if it isn't bad enough he's trying to steal my _destiny_, he has to do it in my _Viper_!"

As he descends the rest of the way down the stairs he mutters to himself.

"I know it will make her _mad_, but I'm gonna _have_ to stake him."

As Angel moves over to an elevator, which opens immediately for him before he touches a button, Gunn moves down the stairs, followed by Fred and Eve.

"I wish _Wes_ was here," Fred says to Gunn. "Instead of visiting his father, I mean."

"Why?" Gunn asks.

" I'd just like to have a second opinion on the whole universe being destabilized into oblivion because we now have two vampire champions with souls thing," Fred answers.

As Fred, Gunn, and Eve walk out of frame and their voices fade with distance, our view switches once again to Buffy and Robin.

"Maybe she means another vampire champion with a soul," Robin says. "One who also just happens to be named Spike."

Buffy doesn't say anything. She just looks at Robin.

"Are you _OK_?" Robin asks.

"No, I'm pissed," Buffy says.

"Do you want to follow Angel, keep them from killing each other?" Robin asks.

"_No_," Buffy says decisively after a moment. "Evidently, Angel decided that Spike's return wasn't my business, and Spike agreed with that. So, it's not our business what they do to each other."

"Do you think this is about the prophecy concerning the 'vampire with a soul', and that there are now two of them?" Robin asks.

"Maybe," Buffy says. "Or maybe Spike isn't really Spike, but another robot, and someone is running an elaborate con game on Angel. Remember, Dawn said that there was a local chaos spell going on here. Maybe whoever's running this game is taking advantage of the fact that Wesley's gone."

"_Wesley_," Robin says. "Wait a minute, that's the guy who…"

"Checked to see if I was all right," Buffy finishes. "Looks like the robot duplicates from the original Watcher's Council are here also, maybe about the Scrolls."

Buffy starts to walk towards the stairs.

"Come _on_," Buffy says. "While Angel's gone, it's our chance to see if we can find the Scroll and get out of here."

The scene switches to Angel's office. Buffy and Robin approach the door.

"I'm going to see if I can break the lock," Buffy says.

"Buffy," Robin says. "Wolfram and Hart probably has an alarm on this door."

"I'll take the risk," Buffy says. "We may not get another chance, and we are running out of time. Our disguises won't last for-"

Buffy stumbles forward as the door opens easily. She walks in, Robin follows. Inside the door, leaning against Angel's desk, is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Or, at least it appears to be Wesley.

"Shut the door," Buffy says to Robin.

"Well Virginia, Franklin," Wesley says, pushing himself off the desk and walking up to Buffy and Robin. "Funny to see you two here, evidently trying to break into our leader's office.

"But then, you're not Virginia and Franklin, are you? You see, I kind of know this because I _terminated_ them, with some prejudice, not one week earlier. They were cheating the company and the Senior Partners."

Buffy crosses her arms.

"You're right," she says. "_I'm_ not Virginia, _he's_ not Franklin, and _you're_ not _Wesley_. _Everybody_ seems to be wearing a new face tonight."

"Wesley" moves his neck as if getting a kink out.

"True enough," he says. His features start to swim, and he becomes taller and fills out. The dark slacks and polo shirt he is wearing morph into an impeccable black suit with thin vertical white stripes. The now very big man brushes an imaginary piece of lint off of his suit coat sleeve. "I'm Hamilton. I suppose you are two of Quentin Travers' duplicates. What is it here that has the old Watcher's Council so interested that they can't go through proper channels?"

"Keep watch," Buffy says to Robin. "I'll take care of this."

Buffy steps towards Hamilton, and he backhands her with his right hand. Buffy flies across the room and slams through the far wall with a terrific crash. Then, Hamilton walks up to the picture window that looks out into the hallway, and over the lobby. There, he pushes a button and the window goes dark.

"I don't think we want to be disturbed, do you?" Hamilton says to Robin. Robin launches a spectacular spin kick at Hamilton's face, but Hamilton barely reacts as the kick strikes, except to slightly turn his head. Robin's follow through after the kick is disrupted, and he lands off balance. Hamilton steps forward, grabs the shirt on Robin's chest, picks him up and presses him against the wall.

"I'm afraid I've already mangled your companion's circuits," Hamilton says. "And I've always wanted to get a look at the inside of one of the old Council's cyborgs."

"_**Leave him alone**_!" a voice shouts. Then we see Buffy's hands grab Hamilton's right arm, pulling it away from Robin. As Robin slumps to the floor, his eyes wide in disbelief, Buffy picks up Hamilton and throws him over Angel's desk and into the wall behind. "_Don't __**touch**__ him_!"

The voice is not Buffy's.

Robin whispers, very softly.

"_Mom_?"

Hamilton stands up from behind the desk and walks around it.

"Huh," he says. "I didn't _realize_ they made cyborgs as formidable as you. But, I am still stronger than you."

"You're right, Hamilton," Buffy says, this time in her own voice. "You're _stronger_ than I am."

Then Buffy's disguised face smiles a predatory smile.

"Not that _that_ will be enough to save you."

Buffy then literally pounces forward off frame with incredible speed. We hear a terrific crash, followed by another. We hear terrific blows and grunts of exertion and pain from both Buffy and Hamilton. Robin watches.

The door to Angel's office opens, but Robin doesn't notice as Dawn and Karyn walk in. Dawn then grabs Robin and pulls him down as Buffy flies spinning over their heads to smash against the door, leaving a large crack, and causing the door to sag off of one of its hinges.

"Do you need help?" Dawn asks Buffy.

Buffy springs to her feet, seemingly none the worse for wear except for a little blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

"No," she says. "I've got this. See if you and Robin can find the Scroll."

"Actually…" Dawn starts to say, but Buffy is already springing forward to renew her fight with Hamilton. Again there are the sounds of terrific crashes and blows, and shouts and grunts of exertion and pain. Then we hear a particularly loud thump, followed by a relatively high pitched groan of pain from Hamilton. Our view switches from the inside doorway to Angel's office to Angel's office proper. Hamilton is on his right hand and knees, holding his groin with his left hand, and trying to push himself back upright again.

"Like I said," Buffy says. "Being _**stronger**__ than me_? _**Not**_ enough, particularly when you're_ that_ slow."

Hamilton lunges to his feet and launches a terrific left cross at Buffy, who easily ducks it. Buffy kicks him in the left knee. Hamilton collapses back down to his knees again, grimacing in pain.

"You're _not_ one of Travers' duplicates," Hamilton says. Then from his knees he tries to strike again with his left fist. Buffy catches it with the palm of her left hand.

"The thing is," she says. "You're not even _that_ much stronger than me."

With that, she hits him with a terrific right cross, knocking him to his hands and knees. As he tries to get back up, Buffy reaches down and snaps his neck. Hamilton falls like a sack of potatoes.

"Was that really necessary?" Dawn asks.

"Yeah, it was," Buffy says, although there is a scary, predatory smile on her face as she speaks. She is still facing away from her companions so they don't see her expression. "He was _almost_ too much for me, and in my current state, that's _**really **_saying a lot."

Then Buffy's expression sobers. She turns towards Dawn.

"Let's see if we can find the Scroll and get out of here," Buffy says.

"Actually," Dawn says. "Mission already accomplished. Got the pictures of what we need and relayed them to Willow."

Buffy blinks in surprise.

"_OK_ then," she says. "Let's get out of here."

Our view slowly moves towards Hamilton lying prone on Angel's carpeted floor. His face is looking over his right shoulder at an unnatural angle. From the right side of the frame, out of our view, we see a bright green glow, and hear four pops of imploding air. Our view remains on Hamilton as the glow decreases with each pop, until it goes out completely with the fourth pop. Hamilton lays unmoving for four more seconds, then his right hand starts to move. He pushes himself back to his hands and knees, and then back to his knees. Then, he reaches up to his head with both hands, and wrenches his head back into a forward facing position. He moves his head around, grimacing in pain. We hear several audible pops and creaks. He slowly stands up.

"I _hate_ it when they break my neck," he says once he is standing up. Then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone.

"Send a cleanup and restoration crew to Mr. Angel's office immediately please," Hamilton says.

**Rome**

Buffy, no longer in disguise, is sitting at her desk holding a wet rag to the side of her face. Dawn, Robin, and Karyn, all looking like themselves again, are standing around the desk. Willow is standing a short distance away holding an open cell phone, a grim expression on her face.

"Did you get it all?" Dawn asks Willow anxiously.

"Yeah," Willow says. "Yeah, I did."

Dawn notices the phone in Willow's hand, and her grim expression.

"Willow, what's _wrong_?" she asks.

"It's _Giles_," Willow says. Dawn reaches for the phone.

"Actually," Willow says. "It's not for you. It's for Karyn."

Karyn, her expression now worried, takes the phone from Willow. Willow jerks her head at Dawn to follow her to the far corner. Buffy and Robin follow. Willow starts to whisper to them.

"Yeah?" Karyn says into the phone. "Mom?...She was in an _**explosion**_? Is she…?"

Karyn listens as Giles responds. We can just make out his voice, but not what he is saying.

"Giles wait…I still want to ask you…" Karyn says. "_**Mom**_? Mom, are you _**OK**_?... He was a _**bomb**_?..._**Caitlyn **_saved you?...Yeah, it went OK, we got the Scroll…_Sure_, you rest _up,_ Mom, get_**better**_…Goodnight."

There is a pause, then we hear a higher pitched voice come from the phone.

"_Hey_, Caitlyn," Karyn says. "_Thanks_ for saving Mom…Of _**course **_I know that she's _**your**_ Mom too, don't be such a…_never mind_…yeah, I love you too.

"Goodbye."

Karyn closes the cell phone. She turns to Robin, Dawn, and Buffy, who are all looking at her with concern.

"I need to get a plane to England," Karyn says. "_**Immediately**_."

"Actually, I think there's a _faster_ way," Dawn says as she rolls up the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

**London**

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is walking along a London sidewalk. A large black car pulls alongside him, little American flags flying on the front corners of the hood. Then, two men in black jump out and grab him. Wesley punches one, knocking him down. The other reaches into his coat when a familiar voice says from within the car:

"Wes, cut the drama and _get in_."

Wesley is obviously surprised, but he immediately steps around the man he knocked down and complies. We follow him into the car. In the seat next to him is a woman in formal military dress, US Army. There are sergeant's stripes on her upper arm, and the name tag says _Lehane_. Her dark brown hair is tied up neatly in a bun under her beret. The woman turns and looks at Wes with a big grin as the car door closes, and the two men who tried to grab Wesley climb into the front seat.

"_Hey,_ Wes," Faith says. "We need to _talk_."

End of the Webisode

Previews of a sort are next


	6. Next on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Next on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

_Note: This is to a "webisode" I am not actually planning on writing. This is included just for fun. _

**We see Giles, his right forearm in a cast that allows motion at the elbow.** He is standing before the desk in his office. Standing in front of him is Roger Wyndam-Pryce.

"Good heavens, Rupert!" Roger says. "What happened to your arm?"

"It was broken during an assassination attempt on my grandmother," Giles says.

"Good lord!" Roger says. "So it was thwarted then?"

"Indeed," Giles says. "Although at no small cost to people I hold dear."

"**Why…are …you…doing …this?" **Roger Wyndam-Pryce gasps under the pressure of Giles' left forearm pressing under his chin. Giles has Roger pinned against the bookcase behind his desk.

"Because my grandmother's location was kept a secret, but it was a secret _you _were privy to," Giles says. "On the other hand, you're the _only_ one who knew my grandmother's location but _didn't_ know that Caitlyn McGrath, like her mother and her older sister, is a slayer. Coincidentally, that's the oversight that prevented the assassination attempt from succeeding."

"And _that's_ why you think_ I _have something to do with these attacks?" Roger asks. "_Really_, Rupert, such _flimsy_ evidence!"

"Perhaps," Giles says. "But we also think that the attacks were launched by the original Council, and specifically Quentin Travers."

"Quentin Travers is _**dead**_," Roger says with as much derision as he can manage. "And, assuming for a moment that he is alive and indeed behind the attacks on your grandmother and your beloved, why do you think that _**I**_ would have any knowledge of Travers' activities?"

A voice comes from behind Giles.

"Perhaps because before talking to you, Giles consulted an _expert _witness," Wesley Wyndam-Pryce says to his father. Giles steps back, and Roger collapses to his knees. Wesley steps between Giles and Roger and squats down, cupping his hand under his father's chin.

"So tell me, father, what exactly _**was **_'Project Failsafe'?" Wesley asks.

**Buffy, Faith, and Giles are fighting a pair of black clad cyber-ninjas in what looks to be a man made tunnel. **Buffy cuts one of the cyber-ninjas literally in half with the samurai sword she is wielding. Sparks fly out of both halves as they fall to the ground. Giles kicks the other cyber-ninja down low, grimacing slightly at the clank his foot makes on impact. Faith, wearing the black outfit of the Initiative, steps in and immediately breaks its neck, then continues to twist until the head comes off in another shower of sparks.

"Someone help Wesley before he gets himself hurt," Giles says. Buffy and Faith turn and simply look behind them.

"Uh, G-man," Faith says. "I _really_ don't think that's a worry."

Giles turns to look, and his eyebrows rise in an expression of surprise.

Then we cut to what they are looking at. Wesley standing over the body of a third cyber-ninja, sparks sputtering out of its body. The cyber-ninja's body has been impaled on its own sword.

"So," Wesley says. "What are we _waiting_ for? I'm ready to talk old times with our old employer, Dr. Travers."

Faith turns to Buffy, who is clearly surprised herself.

"Never underestimate the fury of the recently terminated," Faith says.

**Willow is asleep in bed when a figure steps out of the shadows. **As light hits its face, we recognize the features as belonging to Warren Mears.

"Warren" touches Willow's face. Her eyes fly open and she turns around.

"_Hey,_ sweetie," "Warren" says gently. "_Miss_ me?"


End file.
